Govt to give parents right to monitor schools

The government plans to give parents the right to monitor schools. It wants them to play a bigger role in the education system’s functioning and monitor its programmes.

In model rules approved by human resource development (HRD)
minister Kapil Sibal relating to the right to free and compulsory education for children, the government has laid down provisions that empower parents to monitor teachers’ absenteeism and attendance, maintenance of norms and standards by schools, implementation of mid-day meals and implementation of the right to education among the grassroots.

The model rules were circulated to state governments at a meeting of state education secretaries on the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and school education on Friday. The rules were framed under the new Right to Education Act passed by parliament recently.

The ministry stressed that there should be a school management committee for every school (except unaided ones) with at least 75% of its members drawn from among parents or guardians of children.

Accordingly, the parents’ and the committee’s duty will also be to monitor whether teachers report on time, and keep an eye on private tuitions and teaching in classrooms. They must ensure teachers are not burdened with non-academic duties by the school administration apart from ensuring enrolment and continued attendance of all children from the neighbourhood.

It will be a parent’s duty to bring to the notice of the local authority any deviation from the rights of the child, particularly related to mental and physical harassment of children, denial of admission, and timely provision of free entitlements.

The school management committee has to constitute smaller working groups from among its members to communicate in simple and creative ways to the local population in the school neighbourhood the rights of the child given in the Right to Education Act, duties of the state government, local authority, school, parent and guardian.

State governments have been told to set up commissions for the protection of child rights (SCPCR) immediately and, till then, states will have to constitute an interim authority - the Right to Education Protection Authority (REPA).

The SCPCR or REPA have to set up a children’s helpline that is accessible even by SMS and act as a forum for aggrieved children or guardians to register complaints on violation of rights under the act.

The complainant’s identity has to be kept secret and all complaints to the helpline will be monitored through a transparent ‘alert and action’ online mechanism by the SCPCR or REPA.