Cabinet okays increased role of parents in govt school management

The Punjab Cabinet, led by CM Bhagwant Mann, on Friday approved an amendment to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2011. The amendment aims at increasing parental participation in the management of government schools to further enhance the quality of education.

The Council of Ministers met at the Chief Minister’s Office in the Punjab Civil Secretariat.

According to a spokesperson for the Chief Minister’s Office, the amendment proposes to increase the number of members on the school management committees of government schools from the current 12 to 16. This includes 12 members representing parents of students and four from fields such as education, sports and extracurricular activities.

This will provide specific expertise and increase parental participation and community involvement in subject-specific activities. This seems to be a move by the ruling party to appoint its own volunteers in the school management committees, so that the government schemes in the education sector can be implemented.

The Cabinet also accorded consent to amending the Transfer of Prisoner Act, 1950, to transfer undertrial prisoners from one state to another. This process will be carried out with the consent of both states (where the undertrials are lodged and the state to which they are to be transferred) and after approval of the trial court. This will help in easing the situation of overcrowding in Punjab jails.

The Cabinet also approved creating new rules for Group A of the Social Security, Women and Child Development Department in larger public interest. This will help in streamlining the functioning of the department, thereby benefitting the weaker and underprivileged sections.