The School Education Department is conducting a mass awareness programme in all its 37,391 schools on March 20 to improve the participation of parents in School Management Committees (SMCs).
Minister for School Education Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said in a press release that the department planned to revamp the functioning of the SMCs, particularly with increased participation from women.
Ahead of the awareness programme, the Minister launched a song by Arivu highlighting the importance of government schools and SMCs and a “video-on-wheels” campaign that will travel throughout the State to create awareness through cultural programmes. He released a mobile app to be used by the SMC members for their activities.
He said the 20-member SMCs in all schools would play an active role in the functioning of schools. The committees would pay special focus in ensuring that every child in the 6-14 age group were in school. Similarly, they would be responsible for identifying children with disabilities and the facilities they needed.
A parent of one of the children studying in the school would be the president. The parent of one of the children with special needs would be the vice-president of the committee. Women would get priority to hold these posts and be members of the committee. The SMC functionaries and members would be elected in a democratic manner, the release said.
