Social audit of govt schools to check efficacy of schemes

Chandigarh, September 29

To enhance transparency and accountability in education, the Department of School Education, Chandigarh, entered into an MoU with Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration (MGSIPA) to facilitate the implementation of a social audit for the Samagra Shiksha scheme in schools.

Samagra Shiksha is a flagship scheme of the Union Government, providing comprehensive support for quality education from pre-primary to senior secondary levels. The introduction of social audit is expected to ensure their active participation in monitoring the scheme, ultimately leading to improved implementation.

Under this initiative, a systematic social audit will be conducted, covering 20 per cent of the schools annually, with the goal of auditing all government schools within five years. These efforts align with the guidelines for social audit of Samagra Shiksha provided by the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education.

The audit will ensure that the entitlements guaranteed to children under the Right to Education Act, 2009, and funded through Samagra Shiksha, are being delivered to schools in a timely and equitable manner. It will also verify the timely release of funds to schools or school management committees by the government authorities under single nodal account of Samagra Shiksha State Implementation Society.