Elections held for parent members to Delhi SMCs

NEW DELHI: Over 1,000 Delhi government schools on Saturday successfully held elections for 12 parent member positions to their respective school management committees (SMCs).

Parents of over 16 lakh children enrolled in Delhi government schools were eligible to vote in their children's schools.

This is the second election to the SMCs after the first was held in 2015. The two-year term of SMC members ended this year.

The 16-member SMC in each Delhi government school will comprise the principal or head of school, 12 parents, a social worker, a teacher of the school, and an elected member of the local authority, reviews functioning of the school and strives to improve its working.

Speaking about the SMC elections, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, "Community and parent involvement in keeping government schools accountable has proved to be the most effective reform in Delhi government schools".

"Parents of children are naturally the most invested stakeholders in schools and they have successfully used the SMC platform to improve the condition of schools from within. The SMC election on Saturday has cemented the culture of community participation in the management of public schools in Delhi," added Sisodia, who also holds the position of Delhi Education minister.

This year, the government deployed ad hoc DANICS officers and superintendents as 'observers' to ensure free and fair elections in all 1,029 schools.

Over the last two years, SMCs have become active and effective as parents have been empowered. Cleanliness in schools has improved and teacher-parent partnerships have taken school reforms forward.