In bid to decentralise school governance, Centre mandates, empowers local committees

In a move to decentralise school governance and align with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the Ministry of Education has issued comprehensive new guidelines mandating the formation of School Management Committees (SMCs), and granting them financial and operational powers to oversee and govern schools.

The guidelines, which supersede all previous instructions under schemes like Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and the Right To Education Act, were launched by Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday (May 6, 2026). 

They require every school across the country — including secondary institutions up to Class 12 — to constitute an SMC within one month of the start of the academic year. “The SMC will replace the existing School Management Development Committees (SMDC) to create a unified, streamlined approach to school leadership,” the guidelines said.

Community-led structure

The new framework emphasises that education is a “shared responsibility.” To ensure grassroots involvement, 75% of the SMC’s members must be parents or guardians and 50% must be women. The remaining 25% will include elected local officials, teachers, alumni, and local experts such as Anganwadi workers, ASHA workers, and academicians.

“Furthermore, proportionate representation must be given to Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs), including SC, ST, OBC, and Children with Special Needs (CwSN),” the guidelines state.

Empowered oversight

The SMC is not just an advisory body but holds significant financial and operational power. “Committees are authorised to execute all school civil works costing up to ₹30 lakh. For projects exceeding this amount, SMCs will participate in the public tendering process (per CPWD/PWD manuals) to ensure quality and transparency,” the guidelines said.

The SMC will also be responsible for reviewing the school budget, preventing financial irregularities, and maintaining accurate records of receipts and expenditures.

Two sub-committees will be established under the SMC: the School Building Committee for maintenance and construction, and the Academic Committee focused on improving educational quality.

Driving learning outcomes 

SMCs must lead drives to bring out-of-school children back into the mainstream and ensure the distribution of uniforms, textbooks, and scholarships.

They will also actively monitor the PM-POSHAN scheme, which includes daily tasting of meals by members on a rotational basis to guarantee food quality.

SMCs have also been tasked with creating a three-year School Development Plan consisting of annual sub-plans. “This roadmap will detail class-wise enrollment projections, infrastructure requirements, and the need for additional teaching staff,” the guidelines said.

This new national framework provides a flexible reference for States and UTs to harmonise their local rules, officials further added.