TN: Education Department directs schools to conduct SMC meeting on October 28

The School Education Department of Tamil Nadu has directed the schools in the state to conduct School Management Committee (SMC) meetings on October 28. The School Management Committee meetings were constituted as part of the state government's programme 'Naam Palli Naam Perumai' (Our School Our Pride). According to the Right to Education Act 2009, each SMC will have 20 members of which 15 should be parents or guardians of the students studying in the school. More than 50% of the SMC should consist of women. There will be elected representatives of the respective local bodies, children and teachers other than parents or guardians in each school management committee. There must be representatives of parents or guardians of the students from the minority groups. This should be contemplated by the SMC, stated a report on IANS. 

The previous SMC meeting was held in the month of March. The meetings should be conducted between 3 and 4:30 pm, according to the School Education Department. The SMC has been directed by the Education Department to be active in increasing admission to government schools and improving learning and teaching activities. They are also directed to bring back the students who dropped out of classes, as reported by IANS.

The Tamil Nadu School Education Department, in a circular, stated that the schools should update and monitor the 'TNSED Parents', an app created by the Tamil Nadu State Education Department with the goal of engaging parents and the larger community towards the development of schools, stated the report. The chairperson of the SMCs and other members are also directed to ensure the health of the students and periodic health checkups to be conducted. The student performance in the quarterly examination should also be monitored by the committee. The educational officers at the block and district levels will monitor the SMC meetings.