School management committees to draw up development plans  targeting important focus areas

Ahead of the next monthly meeting today, the committees have been directed to draw up development plans using the TNSED Parent App 

School Management Committees (SMCs), which were revamped earlier this year across government schools as a part of the ‘Nam Palli Nam Perumai’ initiative, are focussing on preparing school development plans that will target key areas needing improvement.

Ahead of the next monthly SMC meeting on Friday, the committees have been directed to draw up school development plans using the TNSED Parent App. The app, which has been created for the use of parents across government schools by the School Education Department, has added a separate module for the SMCs. So far, 1,967 SMCs in government schools have used the app to chart development plans for their schools. They will now begin work on implementing them. The numbers are expected to increase to 10,000 schools during the next round of monthly SMC meetings, an official with the department said.

Members of the revamped SMCs across government schools in Tamil Nadu were elected in April this year. The twenty-member committee comprises 15 parents, a teacher representative, the head of the school and an NGO representative or academician from the community.

The TNSED Parent App, which has the SMC module, has four key focus areas that the SMC members are expected to discuss and provide information on.

“Enrolment and retention, infrastructure, learning and management are the four areas that SMCs will analyse in their schools and, accordingly, update on the app. There are several aspects under these broad areas, ranging from implementation of government schemes, availability of learning equipment in labs, condition of toilets, attendance numbers and academic performance of students, which will all be looked at,” the official added.

The SMCs have also been given responsibilities such as overseeing the smooth implementation of the breakfast scheme in schools. They were also roped in to help with the appointment of temporary staff for LKG and UKG Classes in 2,381 government elementary and middle schools across the State.