New Delhi, May 21 (H.S.): The Ministry of Education on Thursday issued a clarification regarding concerns raised by certain sections of society over the School Management Committee (SMC) Guidelines 2026, stating that these guidelines will not apply to private unaided schools covered under Section 2(n)(4) of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, provided such institutions do not receive any form of aid or grants from the Central Government, state governments, or local bodies for meeting their expenses.

However, the Ministry said that private unaided schools are encouraged to constitute School Management Committees in order to promote transparency, accountability, and participatory governance in school administration.

In its statement, the Ministry emphasized that education is not solely the responsibility of the government, but a shared responsibility involving schools, parents, and the wider community. According to the Ministry, strengthening cooperation among parents, schools, and other stakeholders is essential for improving the overall functioning of schools and enhancing learning outcomes for children.

The Ministry further clarified that the objective of the SMC Guidelines is to ensure greater participation and transparency in school governance so that the education system becomes more effective and responsive.

It is noteworthy that School Management Committees play a central role in ensuring the effective functioning of schools and improving the quality of education. Their key responsibilities include monitoring the overall functioning of schools and overseeing the timely and effective implementation of academic schemes such as Samagra Shiksha, PM SHRI, and PM POSHAN.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had issued the new guidelines for School Management Committees on May 6. One of the most significant changes introduced under the new framework is that SMCs will no longer remain limited to the primary level but will also be implemented in secondary schools up to Class 12. In addition, the guidelines provide for replacing the existing School Management Development Committees (SMDCs) with SMCs.

According to the new guidelines, every school will be required to constitute an SMC within one month of the commencement of the academic session.

The number of committee members will be determined on the basis of student enrollment. Schools with up to 100 students may have 12 to 15 members, those with 100 to 500 students may have 15 to 20 members, while schools with more than 500 students may constitute committees comprising 20 to 25 members.

The tenure of SMC members will be two years. Members may be reappointed for one additional term, but no member will be allowed to serve for more than two consecutive terms, except the Member Secretary, who will be the school principal.

After the formation of the committee, its first meeting must be held on the next working day or within a maximum period of one week. During the first meeting, the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson will be elected.

The new framework has also made the composition of the committee more inclusive. Seventy-five percent of the members will consist of parents or guardians of students, while the remaining 25 percent will include representatives from local authorities, teachers, educationists, subject experts, academicians, senior and former students, and frontline community workers such as Anganwadi workers, ASHA workers, and Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) working in the vicinity of the school.

To promote women’s participation, it has been made mandatory for at least 50 percent of the committee members to be women. The guidelines also emphasize ensuring representation from socially and economically disadvantaged groups as well as parents of children with special needs.

To strengthen transparency and accountability, regular monthly meetings of the SMCs will now be mandatory, and proper records of agendas, attendance, and decisions taken during meetings must be maintained. Additionally, provisions have been introduced for publicly displaying school report cards through the UDISE+ system.

The role of the SMCs has also been significantly expanded under the new guidelines. Committees will no longer be limited to monitoring functions alone but will also actively participate in preparing School Development Plans (SDPs), mobilizing resources through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, bringing dropout children back into the mainstream education system, and achieving Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) targets.

Furthermore, provisions have been made for the creation of two new sub-committees — the School Infrastructure Committee and the Academic Committee — to ensure more efficient management and implementation of responsibilities.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar