The involvement of parents in children’s education is largely believed to result in better learning outcomes. Recognizing this, the makers of the Right to Education Act, have mandated parental involvement in schools through School Monitoring & Management Committees. These 12 member committees that include, parents, a teacher and the village head, have tasks like making school development plans and keeping a check on the functioning. How successful are SMCs in discharging these responsibilities? VV-PACS Community Correspondent Sanjay Jaiswal reports from Maharajganj district, Uttar Pradesh.
After conducting a survey in 5 schools he got to know about the lax attitude of SMCs in schools. “When we talk to the students they tell us, studies are not carried properly & the meals are not prepared, so our job is to monitor that”, says one parent and an SMC member. "Nobody comes to monitor whether students are getting food or not. They never check if there are proper toilets for kids or if they are clean” adds Vikas a student at one school. At the beginning of their tenures all SMC members are given a training as to what they need to monitor under the Right to Education Act. In this case the SMCs have not done their jobs properly.
Call to Action: To help you can call Sub-District Magistrate, Ratanpur Block, Maharajganj district, U.P on 0552223246 and ask him to get an efficient School Management Committee in the school.
About the Partnership: The Poorest Areas Civil Society (PACS) Programme and Video Volunteers have come together to create the Community Correspondents Network. The videos generated by the network will be able to highlight voices from the margins, providing skills to social communicators to provide advocacy tools to community based organisations.
The torch bearer of rights for marginalized tribals of Odisha
If you ask Video Volunteers’ Community Correspondent Bideshini Patel to rate her childhood on a scale of 1-10, she would probably give it a negative marking due to the neglect and abuse she faced. But if you ask her to evaluate her professional life as an impactful journalist, resolving basic...
Fighting for Change: The Story of Bihar-Based Journalist Amir Abbas
Inspiration can come from many sources, but one of the most powerful is seeing someone walk the path before you. Our Community Correspondent, Syed Amir Abbas found his inspiration in Stalin K., the founding director of Video Volunteers. “I met Stalin at VV’s national meet in 2017 and I...