Pune: Parents may soon have a greater say in decisions on school infrastructure, student attendance and academic quality, with the state education department launching a training drive to strengthen School Management Committees (SMCs) in 75,000 schools across Maharashtra.The initiative, being implemented under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan’s ‘Community Participation’ programme, aims to make SMCs more effective by helping members understand their powers, responsibilities and role in school development. The department has allocated Rs 7 crore for the training programme.The training comes against the backdrop of several SMCs in govt and aided schools functioning largely on paper. Officials and education experts said better awareness among parents and community representatives could help schools identify local problems and push for solutions.“SMCs have an important role in planning for infrastructure, student attendance, academic quality and other requirements of schools. Therefore, members need to clearly understand their rights and responsibilities,” said education commissioner Sachindra Pratap Singh.Training for state-level trainers was conducted between Sept 15 and 17. They will now take the programme to district, taluka and school levels, where SMC members will receive practical training.“The sessions will focus on preparing school development plans, identifying infrastructure and other requirements, monitoring academic quality and overseeing the use of funds. Members will also be encouraged to place parents’ concerns and suggestions before the school authorities,” said Singh.The department plans to use examples from schools where active community participation has contributed to improvement. One such example is the Ayodhyanagar Marathi School in Chembur East, where an SMC-led effort between 2015 and 2018 helped secure civic action on issues regarding the school building, teacher shortage and academic improvement.Educationist Arvind Vaidya said such experiences would be useful during training. “Parents should not merely be given responsibilities; they must also have the freedom and confidence to use the powers available to them. Their experiences should be part of the school improvement process,” he said.Social worker Mumtaz Shaikh said stronger SMCs could help schools respond faster to local needs. “Many committees remain inactive because members are not aware of what they can do. Once parents understand their rights, they can raise issues related to facilities, attendance and learning more effectively,” she said.The department hopes the training will turn SMCs from statutory bodies that often remain on paper into active partners in school development, with parents playing a more direct role in decisions affecting their children.
