Bhubaneswar: Every govt school will get a new school management committee (SMC) from July 1. As part of the reforms aimed at streamlining school governance, the state govt has decided that every school will have a single school management committee, replacing the existing system of separate school management committees and school management and development committees (SMDC)s.The tenure of all existing committees will end on June 30. Under the revised framework, each school will function through a single SMC responsible for overall management and community participation. To ensure focused attention on key areas, two specialised sub-committees — the school building committee and the school academic committee — will function under the SMC.Officials said the move is aimed at eliminating duplication of roles, simplifying decision-making and improving coordination in the implementation of school development activities.While the school building committee will oversee infrastructure development, maintenance and utilisation of grants for civil works, the school academic committee will focus on improving learning outcomes, monitoring classroom processes, student attendance and academic planning.School and mass education minister Nityananda Gond said the new SMCs would ensure greater participation of parents, including those of children with disabilities and those belonging to ST/SC and SEBC communities.“Fifty per cent of the members of the SMCs will be women. The committees will comprise parents, members selected by local govt officials, school teachers, local educationists, and Anganwadi and ASHA workers,” Gond said, adding that the tenure of the committees will be of two years.The restructuring is part of the state’s efforts to strengthen school governance in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which advocates greater community participation and decentralised management of schools.Education department officials said the unified structure would reduce the administrative burden on schools and enable parents, teachers and local community representatives to participate more effectively in planning and monitoring school activities.
