Abstract-4 (Jul 2020) Sraban Kumar Bag

Pedagogy of Learning, Vol. 6 (3) July 2020, pp. 21-27

 

Functioning of School Management Committees in Tribal districts of Odisha

DOI: 10.46704/pol.2020.v06i03.004

Sraban Kumar Bag, Ph.D. Scholar, School of Education, Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, Odisha, India.  E-mail: sraban.bag@gmail.com

Bikali Charan Das, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Education, Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, Odisha, India. E-mail: dasbcbu@gmail.com

Ashok Dansana, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Education, Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, Odisha, India. E-mail: dansana.cie@gmail.com

Corresponding Author: Sraban Kumar Bag

ABSTRACT

            Constitution of school management committees and their capacity building to effectively discharge their functions has been the core idea behind decentralised governance at school level. The Right to Education Act 2009, in its section-21 has clearly made this special provision outlining the process of its composition and functioning as well. For a state like Odisha where 22% of population are tribal, it becomes imperative to ensure this principal platform of community involvement is constituted and functions effectively, so that people of this section are meaningfully engaged and mainstreamed in the developmental process. The present study was conducted in 20 randomly selected schools of Thuamulrampur block of Kalahandi district with the objective to study the status and process adopted in the field towards the formation and functioning of the SMCs. Also an objective was to assess the kind of change made by the School Management Committees ensuring access, equity and quality parameters at the school level. The study found that in all the schools SMCs are formed and members have heard about the ‘RtE Act-2009’. But in majority of cases the SMC members are not very much aware on different dimensions of access, equity and quality parameters. It also observed that there was huge gap in the training provided to them and transforming it into action. Further the study found that in 30% schools the monthly meeting minutes is not recorded. Invariably the duration of SMC meeting differs from less than one hour to more than two hours. It was also reported that 45% of SMC chairman were not satisfied with the way of functioning of their respective SMCs. All those factors indicate how effectively SMCs are functioning in succeeding the larger goal of Universalization of elementary education in decentralised governance at school level in the tribal areas.

KEYWORDS: School Management Committee, Tribal Area, Decentralized Governance, Right to Education Act 2009.

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