By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The State Cabinet will decide on minor changes to be incorporated in the Meghalaya Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2010, with regard to the formation of managing committees in schools run by minority organisations.
The changes will help the minority run institutions, including those managed by religious bodies, to have greater say in the managing committees as the RTE Act did not provide much representation to the school authorities in the school managing committees (SMCs).
According to Director of School Education and Literacy, JD Sangma, a new proviso has been inserted so that the managing committees under the RTE Act will perform advisory functions only, but their composition will remain the same.
As per the RTE Act, 75 per cent of the strength of the school managing committee shall be from amongst parents or guardians of children studying in the school while the remaining 25 per cent shall be from amongst elected members of the local authority, teachers from the school, local educationists, to be decided by the parents in the committee.
However, this section was objected by many church leaders under the umbrella of the Meghalaya Church Leaders Coordination Committee on Education who had, earlier, urged the government to maintain status quo in relation to the Act especially with regards to Section 21 related to the SMCs.
As per the new amendment, the SMCs will only be ‘advisory’ in nature.
“The guidelines which were earlier issued for the composition of management committee for all schools other than those specified under sub-clause IV of clause (n) of section 2 of the Act has been temporarily withdrawn,” Sangma said.
The minor changes in the provision of the Act will be forwarded to the State Cabinet for approval and accordingly placed in the Assembly.