Comparative study of the status of School

Management Committees established under Right to

Free and Compulsory Act, in two districts of
Rajasthan

Project report for Masters in Rural Development

Project Report for degree of Masters in Rural

Development from Indira Gandhi National Open
University

(MRDP-001)

Presenter : Sapna Bist

Page 1

Table of Content
Topic

Page Number

Abbreviations

List of Tables

List of Figures

Acknowledgement

Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1

Statement of the Purpose

1.2

Scope of the Study

1.3

Title of the Study

1.4

Objectives

1.5

Area of the Study

1.6

Research Methodology

10

Chapter 2 - Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE), 2009

13

2.1

Introduction to RTE

14

2.2

School Management Committee under the Right to Free and

17

Compulsory Education Act, 2009

2.3

School Management Committee under Right to Free and Compulsory

20

Education Act, 2009 in Rajasthan

Chapter 3 : Role of Education Development and Community Participation in Rural

21

Development
3.1 Role of Education in Rural Development in India

Page 2

22

3.2 Education scenario of Rajasthan in comparison to India

23

3.3 Community Participation for Education Development in Rural India

28

3.3.1

Introduction

3.3.2

Need of community participation

3.3.3

Role of community participation in enhancing quality of education

leading to Rural Development

3.3.4

Few Successful community participation based Education

program of Rajasthan

3.4 Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan

37

3.5 Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Village Education Committee

40

Chapter 4 Educational, Socio and Demographic profile of Rajasthan

45

4.1

Socio Demographic Profile of Rajasthan

46

4.2

Status of Primary Education

51

4.3

Quality of Education

51

4.4

Profile of districts being studied

53

Chapter 5 Conclusion and Suggestion

59

5.1 Findings of the Study

60

5.2 Conclusion

69

5.3 Suggestions

71

References

74

Annexure

77

Annexure 1 : Questionnaires
Annexure 2 : Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009

Page 3

Abbreviations
RTE

Right to Education

LJ

Lok Jumbish

SMC

School Management Committee

CBSE

Central Board of Secondary Education

DPEP

District Primary Education Program

MTA

Mother Teacher Association

NPE

National Policy on Education

NFE

Non Formal Education

NCF

National Curriculum Framework

PRI

Panchayati Raj Institutions

NGO

Non Government Organization

SKP

Shiksha Karmi Project

SSA

Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan

UEE

Universalization of Elementary Education

UNCRC

United Nations Convention on Child Rights

VEC

Village Education Committee

Page 4

List of Tables
Tables
Table 1.1 - Schools where study was conducted
Table 3.1 - Literacy Rate of Rajasthan in comparison with the Literacy Rate of the Country
Table 3.2 - Constitution of Village Education Committee
Table 4.1 - District wise Population of Rajasthan
Table 4.2 - Educational Statistics of Rajasthan
Table 4.3 - Learning level of children of Rajasthan
Table 5.1 - Response to Question Have you heard about RTE?
Table 5.2 Response to the question are SMC meetings contributing towards development
of the school?

Page 5

List of Figures
Figure 1 - Respondents who have not heard of RTE in different category
Figure 2 Response to do you know you are member of SMC?
Figure 3 - Frequency of SMC meetings
Figure 4 Response to do you contribute expectedly in the meetings?
Figure 5 - Percentage of SMC member who have heard about RTE Act (District wise)
Figure 6 : How many members are there in SMC? (District wise)
Figure 7 : Do you know who the chairperson is of the ?(District wise)

Page 6

Acknowledgement
A Project requires a lot of support and assistance from several people. I am thankful to all
the people who helped me in various stages of the project.
Foremost I would like to take this opportunity to convey my profound gratitude and deep
regards to my supervisor and mentor Dr. V.B. Chaurasia, study centre (2705) for his
exemplary guidance, monitoring and constant encouragement throughout the course of
this Project. Without his guidance and support this project wouldnt have been possible.
The study has been possible by collaborative effort of several people including my
acquaintances who helped me in conducting the interviews and the members of the SMCs
who responded to the queries related to the study.

I also thank the team of the NGO

Taabar and Pratham who helped me in primary data collection from the respondents.
This acknowledgement would be incomplete if I do not pay my regards to the school
administration that provided the information of the SMC members.

Sapna Bist
Enrollment Number 095140942

Page 7

Chapter 1
Introduction

Page 8

Chapter 1 : Introduction
1.1

Statement of the Purpose

The Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE), 2009 the landmark law was
enacted in 2009 and became effective on April 1, 2010. The law makes education a
fundamental right for children and legally enforce for every child to demand free and
elementary education between the ages of 6 and 14 years. It states that every child of the
age of 6-14 shall have a right to free and compulsory education in a neighboring school till
completion of elementary education.
This Act serves as a building block to ensure that every child has his or her right (as an
entitlement) to get a quality elementary education, and that the State, with the help of
families and communities, fulfils this obligation.
With the Right to Education Act coming into force, India joined the league of over 130
countries which have legal guarantees to provide free and compulsory education to
children.
The Right to Education Act has mandated the constitution of a School Management
Committee (SMC).
Schools shall constitute School Management Committees (SMCs) comprising local
authority officials, parents, guardians and teachers. The SMCs shall form School
Development Plans and monitor the utilization of government grants and the whole
school environment.
RTE also mandates the inclusion of 50 per cent women and parents of children from
disadvantaged groups in SMCs. Such community participation will be crucial to ensuring a

Page 9

child friendly whole school environment through separate toilet facilities for girls and
boys and adequate attention to health, water, sanitation and hygiene issues.
As per the RTE Act, the SMC is constituted of a General Body and an Executive Body. The
General Body consists of all the parents, teachers, and every Panchayari Raj
Institution(PRI) members residing in the catchment area of the school. The executive body
is made up of 15 members elected from the General Body, 11 of who are
parents/guardians, Head Masters of the school, 1 Gram Panchayat/ Nagar Palika/ Ward
member and 1 student. Of these 15 members 50% should be women. In addition the
executive committee should also have representation by SC, ST, OBC and minorities
communities. The tenure of the executive committee of the SMC is 2 years and should
meet every month while the General Body should meet once in 3 months. The head of the
executive committee is the President and Vice President elected from among the
members and the Head Master of the concerned school is the Honorary Secretary.
The committee performs the following functions

Monitor the schools activities and its working

Prepare and recommend school development plan

Monitor grant utilization

Monitor teacher and students attendance

Monitor Mid Day Meal

Ensure 100% enrollment of children in the age group of 6-14 years.

The recently introduced RTE Act has made the formation of SMCs mandatory because it is
realized that School Management Committee(SMCs) are crucial for local governance and

P a g e 10

functioning of the schools. The Government of Rajasthan has issued its directives for
formulation and execution of SMCs as guided by the RTE Act. In the given context, after 2

Years of enactment of the RTE Act and 1 year after the issuance of directives by Rajasthan
Government, it will be interesting to see the status of SMC in Rajasthan.
Thus the purpose of the study is to evaluate and analyze the status of the School
Management Committee in the school of Rajasthan.

1.2

Scope of the Study

The study will focus on finding the experiences and views of SMC members regarding the
constitution and functioning of the School Management Committee. It will center on
finding

1.3

Are SMC formulate as per the RTE rules

Do the committee members feel their involvement in the process of the school

Do they contribute in any way in the development of the school.

Are the SMCs are working according to the directives of the Act or not.

Does SMCs lead to school development

Title of the Study

P a g e 11

A comparative study of the status of School Management Committees established under

Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, in six districts of Rajasthan.
1.4

Objectives

The aim of the study will be to

To assess whether SMC have been constituted as per guidelines laid down in RTE
and finding the challenges found in its constitution

To assess the implementation of the School Management Committee constituted

under RTE Act and its impact on development in the school

The find out the level of involvement among SMC members in the decision making
process of school.

1.5

Area of the Study

The study covers 2 district of the state of Rajasthan Jodhpur, and Jhalawar.
The criteria for selecting these districts
Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) is an annual survey that aims to provide
reliable annual estimates of childrens enrollment and basic learning levels for each
district and state in India. ASER has been conducted every year since 2005 in all rural

P a g e 12

districts of India. According to the ASER study the districts were rated according to the
learning level of children. In the study there is focus on including districts of all level. So
the following districts selected.

Jhalawar found place in the bottom 5 districts

Jodhpur found place in the medium 5 districts

1.6 Research Methodology

Sample
From each 2 districts, 5 schools were selected. Total 10 schools were selected and 4
members from each School Management Committee were contacted.
A total of 40 SMC members (4 SMC members from each of 10 schools) were
contacted to respond to the questionnaire. Four categories of members of the
SMC were considered. 2 parents (male and female), 1 PRI representative and 1 school
teacher.

Sample Selection
Following schools were selected (5 from each district) by random sampling

P a g e 13

Table 1.1
Schools where study was conducted
Sno

District

School

Jhalawar

Upper Primary School Samiya

Jhalawar

Primary School Kjalil Nagar

Jhalawar

Upper Primary School Dhabli

Jhalawar

Primary School Bhatkhera

Jhalawar

Upper Primary School Pithakheri

Jodhpur

Girls Upper Primary School Nadsar

Jodhpur

Primary School Mehron ki Dhani

Jodhpur

Primary School Joravan ki Dhani

Jodhpur

Primary School Barni Khurd

10

Jodhpur

Primary School Nadsar

Preparation of Tools and procedure for data Collection

Visits to schools were done to understand the SMC scenario. The 10 schools were selected
and the school administration was asked to provide the details of the SMC members.
Two questionnaires were created
1. Questionnaire 1 To get information from the Scho0l Administration about the
details of the School Management Committee

P a g e 14

2. Questionnaire 2 - A questionnaire to assess the level of awareness of their

involvement in the process of schools, the constitution of the SMC and selection of
its members etc were developed.
These questionnaire were tested by getting them responded by 1 school the
members of SMC of 1 school.

The suggestions, changes were incorporated and the questionnaire was reviewed
and revised and final questionnaire was developed.

P a g e 15

Chapter 2
Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE),
2009

P a g e 16

Chapter 2: Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE), 2009

2.1 Introduction to RTE
The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002 inserted Article 21-A in the
Constitution of India to provide free and compulsory education of all children in the age
group of six to fourteen years as a Fundamental Right in such a manner as the State may,
by law, determine. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act,
2009, which represents the consequential legislation envisaged under Article 21-A, means
that every child has a right to full time elementary education of satisfactory and equitable
quality in a formal school which satisfies certain essential norms and standards. The title
of the RTE Act incorporates the words free and compulsory. Free education means that
no child, other than a child who has been admitted by his or her parents to a school which
is not supported by the appropriate Government, shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or
charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing
elementary education. Compulsory education casts an obligation on the appropriate
Government and local authorities to provide and ensure admission, attendance and
completion of elementary education by all children in the 6-14 age groups. With this, India
has moved forward to a rights based framework that casts a legal obligation on the
Central and State Governments to implement this fundamental child right as enshrined in
the Article 21A of the Constitution, in accordance with the provisions of the RTE Act.

P a g e 17

The RTE Act provides for :

(i)

Right of children to free and compulsory education till completion of

elementary education in a neighborhood school.

(ii)

It clarifies that compulsory education means obligation of the appropriate

government to provide free elementary education and ensure compulsory
admission, attendance and completion of elementary education to every child
in the six to fourteen age group. Free means that no child shall be liable to
pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from
pursuing and completing elementary education.

(iii)

It makes provisions for a non-admitted child to be admitted to an age

appropriate class.

(iv)

It specifies the duties and responsibilities of appropriate Governments, local

authority and parents in providing free and compulsory education, and sharing
of financial and other responsibilities between the Central and State
Governments.

(v)

It lays down the norms and standards relating inter alia to Pupil Teacher Ratios
(PTRs), buildings and infrastructure, school-working days, teacher working
hours.

(vi)

It provides for rational deployment of teachers by ensuring that the specified

pupil teacher ratio is maintained for each school, rather than just as an average
for the State or District or Block, thus ensuring that there is no urban-rural
imbalance in teacher postings. It also provides for prohibition of deployment of
teachers for non-educational work, other than decennial census, elections to
local authority, state legislatures and parliament, and disaster relief.

P a g e 18

(vii)

It provides for appointment of appropriately trained teachers, i.e. teachers

with the requisite entry and academic qualifications.

(viii)

It prohibits physical punishment and mental harassment;

procedures for admission of children; capitation fee;

screening

private tuition by

teachers and running of schools without recognition,

(ix)

It provides for development of curriculum in consonance with the values

enshrined in the Constitution, and which would ensure the all-round
development of the child, building on the childs knowledge, potentiality and
talent and making the child free of fear, trauma and anxiety through a system
of child friendly and child centered learning

Besides making education a fundamental right of every child between the ages of 6 to
14, the Act specifies minimum norms in government schools. It requires the
reservation of 25 per cent of places in private schools for children from poor families,
prohibits unrecognized schools from practice, and makes provisions for no donation or
capitation fees and no interview of the child or parent for admission. The Act also
provides that no child shall be held back, expelled, or required to pass a board
examination until the completion of elementary education. There is also a provision
for special training of school drop-outs to bring them up to par with students of the
same age.
Under the Act, the Right to Education of persons with disabilities until 18 years of age
has also been made a fundamental right. The Act provides for the establishment of the
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, and State Commissions for
supervising proper implementation of the act, looking after complaints and protection

P a g e 19

of Child Rights. Other provisions regarding improvement of school infrastructure,

teacher-student ratio and faculty are made in the Act. There must be at least one
teacher for 30 students and there must be involvement of students' parents in
school's administration.

2.2 School Management Committee under the Right to Free and Compulsory Education
Act, 2009
Every School other than an unaided school shall constitute a School Management
Committee (hereinafter called "the Committee"), within a period of six months from the
appointed date and the Committee shall be required to be reconstituted every two years.
The Committee shall consist of twelve members, of which 50% shall be women. Seventy
five per cent of the member of the Committee shall be from amongst parents or
guardians of children. The School shall give proportionate representation in the said
Committee to the parents or guardians of children belonging to disadvantaged group and
weaker section.
The remaining twenty five per cent member of the Committee shall be from amongst the
Following Persons, namely:

One third members shall be from amongst the elected members of the local
authority, as may be nominated by the local authority or in case of grant in aid
schools, from the management or the trust;

One third members shall be from amongst teachers of the school, to be decided by
the teachers of such school;

P a g e 20

remaining one third from amongst local educationists / children in the school, as
may be decided by the parents or guardians in the Committee;

To manage its affairs, the Committee shall elect the Chairperson and the Vice Chairperson
from amongst the parent members. The Head teacher of the school or where the school
does not have a head teacher, the senior most teacher of the school, shall be the exofficio Member- Convener of the Committee.

Functions of the School Management Committee: (Role & Responsibilities)

a. Communicate in simple and creative ways to the population in the neighborhood
of the school, the rights of the child as enunciated in the Act; as also the duties of
the State Government, local authority, school, parent and guardian;
b. Monitor that teachers are not burdened with nonacademic duties;
c. Ensure the enrolment and continued attendance of all the children from the
neighborhood in the school;
d. Monitor the maintenance of the norms and standards prescribed in the Schedule;
e. Bring to the notice of the local authority any deviation from the rights of the child,
in particular mental and physical harassment of children, denial of admission, and
due provisions of free entitlements .
f. Identify the needs, prepare a Plan, and monitor the implementation of the
provisions of the Act
g. Monitor the identification and enrolment of, and facilities for learning by disabled
children, and ensure their participation in, and completion of elementary
education;

P a g e 21

h. Monitor the implementation of the Mid-Day Meal in the school.

i.

Prepare an annual account of receipts and expenditure of the School. Any money
received by the Committee in discharge of its functions under the Act, shall be
deposited and kept in a separate account, and the same cause to be audited every
year.

j.

The Committee shall prepare an annual report at the end of every academic year
giving its assessment of the implementation of school development plan . The
report shall contain brief accounts of activities undertaken by the Committee
during the year. A copy of the report shall be sent to the Concerned Coordinator of
the Cluster Resource Center, and also place before the Gram Sabah.

k. The Committee shall meet at least once a quarter and the minutes and decisions
of the meetings shall be properly recorded and made available to the public.

2.3 School Management Committee under Right to Free and Compulsory Education
Act,
Rajasthan has been one of the pioneering states to implement this Act. The
constitution of the SMC in the school needs to be done according to the RTE rules. A
major thrust of the SMC agenda along with other in Rajasthan is to strive for increased
enrollment and enhancing the quality of education. The focus is on preparation of
School Development Plan. School Development Plan is a document with a list of
activities prepared by a school on the basis of its at hand status which are to be
conducted in future to achieve the targeted objectives in targeted timeframe (short
term or long term) with appropriate strategies and plan of actions.

P a g e 22

Objectives of preparing School Development Plan are as under:

To ensure universal enrolment, retention, Quality and completion of

elementary education.

To ensure child-friendly, barrier free, safe and attractive school environment

for pedagogical processes..

To ensure Special Training to Out of School Children of school neighborhood to

put them in the age appropriate class.

To ensure physical infrastructure along with all weather school buildings.

To ensure higher order learning in children with holistic development.

To ensure community and civil society partnership in all developmental

activities of the school

P a g e 23

Chapter 3
Role of Education Development and Community
Participation in Rural Development

P a g e 24

Chapter 3

Role of Education Development and Community Participation in Rural

Development
3.1 Role of Education in Rural Development in India
Education and development go hand in hand and the level and quality of education is
one of the most significant factors for development of a country be it in Urban or
Rural setting. The reason for this is that education is one of the most powerful tools to
reduce poverty and inequality. It paves the way for sustained economic growth.
Several studies and researches demonstrate that illiteracy corresponds to poverty. The
development of a nation is closely related to the development of its human resources.
In a fast changing world, the educational system of a country is the main edifice on
which the future of the nation rests.
Education is the most important lever for social, economic and political
transformation. A well educated population, equipped with the relevant knowledge,
attitudes and skills is essential for economic and social development in the twentyfirst century. Education is the most potent tool for socioeconomic mobility and a key
instrument for building an equitable and just society. Education provides skills and
competencies for economic well-being. Education strengthens democracy by
imparting to citizens the tools needed to fully participate in the governance process.
Education also acts as an integrative force in society, imparting values that foster
social cohesion and national identity. Recognizing the importance of education in
national development, the Twelfth Plan places an unprecedented focus on the
expansion of education, on significantly improving the quality of education imparted
and on ensuring that educational opportunities are available to all segments of the
society.

P a g e 25

This makes it clear that education is A Basic Human Right and this has been
demonstrated in the following forums

a. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states in Article 26 that everyone has
the right to a basic education, and that it should be free and available to all.
b. The Convention on the Rights of the Child specifically says that all children have
the right to a good primary education and should have equal access to secondary
education.
c. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) call for universal primary education by
2015. It is debated and believed by many that education is the key to achieving all
of the eight MDGs.

3.2 Education scenario of Rajasthan in comparison to India

Since Independence, India has made impressive progress in terms of growth of
educational institutions at different levels, physical access to schooling for children,
and diversification of educational programmes. Today, 18 crore children are taught by
almost 57 lakh teachers in more than 12 lakh primary and upper primary schools
across the length and breadth of the country.
With schematic interventions from the erstwhile Operation Blackboard, Bihar
Education Project, Lok Jumbish, District Primary Education Programme, and the
Governments current flagship programme of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), over 98%
of our children are estimated to have access to primary schooling within one kilometer

P a g e 26

of their habitation, and almost 92% to an upper primary school within three
kilometers of their habitation. Gross enrolment ratios have increased significantly
across all social categories, dropout rates at primary level have declined, and
transition from primary to upper primary stage has improved. Decentralized academic
support structures have been established in the form of District Institutes for
Education and Training (DIETs) in 571 districts, and Resource Centers in 6746 blocks
and 70388 clusters in the country. Over 12 crore children participate in the Mid Day
Meal programme, the worlds largest school feeding programme, which impacts not
only enrollment of children, but also their regular attendance in school and
participation in the learning process. This notable spatial spread and physical access
has, however, by and large not been supported by satisfactory curricular
interventions, including teaching learning materials, training designs, assessment
systems and classroom practices, or even suitable infrastructure Despite of the fact
that Education is driving factor for development and that a lot of investment in this
sector The 53rd round of the NSSO revealed that 38 percent of Indias population was
illiterate in 1997, while the 1991 Census had found that 48 percent were illiterate. The
Census of India 2001 has revealed that the situation has further improved and the
illiteracy rate is 35 percent. 2011 census says that 26% population is illiterate. Despite
of the increasing literacy rate the below facts show that a lot still needs to be
achieved.

P a g e 27

National Facts 1- Facts the number of primary schools increased almost threefold - from
210,000 in 1951 to 590,000 in 1995. As a result, literacy nearly tripled during 1951-91. Yet
almost half the population - some 450 million people are still illiterate. Indias Literacy
Rate is 65 per cent versus a global average of 80 per cent. 35 million of our 192 million
children between 6-14 years are out of school and of those enrolled; another 15 million
are habitual absentees. Dropout rates are staggering, and only 31 per cent complete basic
schooling of grade 10. Those who actually attend class, learning levels are deplorable, 7
million out of 19, million children in Grade V cannot read and write- this even does not
constitute literacy, let alone education.
Rajasthan vs. Nation scenario
The Literacy rate of Rajasthan is 67% and it finds place in the lowest three states
Arunachal Pradesh 66.95% and Bihar 63.82%. Table 1.1 gives a bird eye view of the
literacy scenario of Rajasthan in comparison to India.

Table 3.1
Literacy Rate of Rajasthan in comparison with the Literacy Rate of the Country

Literacy Rate

Male Literacy

Female Literacy

https://smartech.gatech.edu/bitstream/handle/1853/37943/Rishi_Kochhar_Primary_Edu
cation.pdf?sequence=1

P a g e 28

India

74%

82.2%

65.5%

Rajasthan

67%

80%

53%

(Source : Census of India 2011 - http://www.census2011.co.in)

Few of the problems faced by Rajasthan Education are

1. Girl Child Education
2. Education of marginalized population
3. Education not relevant to the livelihood need of the people
4. Gaps in decentralization and peoples participation
5. Low involvement of the
Rajasthan is characterized by sharp differences in terms of terrain, livelihood, dispersed
patterns of settlement and social identity. Within the state, agriculture and animal
husbandry are the major sources of livelihood, with no significant manufacturing
industries or sectors. Distribution of income and assets is also highly uneven. Therefore,
the task of ensuring that education is universalized and relevant for all sections of society
is indeed formidable. The main challenge confronting education strategies in Rajasthan is
the education of the girl child, especially among Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes.
Analysis of primary education in Rajasthan attempts to identify key issues to strengthen
initiatives for universalizing literacy and ensuring quality education that could sustain a
pro-poor pattern of growth. The main points are:

The system of education in Rajasthan needs considerable reform in order to

improve the access of marginalized groups (women especially girl children, dalits,

P a g e 29

migrants and nomadic people, etc.) to the educational infrastructure that has been
put in place. Education reforms must make the system more relevant to the
livelihood needs of people, and should enable them to exercise greater control
over their lives.

Decentralization and peoples participation is a must for the success of education

interventions in Rajasthan, given the persistence of low achievements in education
in spite of considerable investment in the expansion of education infrastructure.
Participation should imply involvement of people and the government together in
deciding the direction of and control over programmes.

Rajasthan is at the crossroads as far as design and implementation of education

interventions are concerned, with substantial resources flowing to the sector, both
from the states budget and internationally assisted programmes such as DPEP.
However, situational analysis indicates that the literacy situation in Rajasthan is
quite grim, with many districts being among the most backward in the country in
terms of literacy rates, and even more so in terms of female literacy.

P a g e 30

3.3 Community Participation for Education Development in Rural India

3.3.1 Introduction
Community Participation finds its roots in the belief of Swaraj of Mahatma Gandhi
which he explained in his vision in a letter written in 1946 2:
Independence begins at the bottom... A society must be built in which every village
has to be self sustained and capable of managing its own affairs... It will be trained
and prepared to perish in the attempt to defend itself against any onslaught from
without... This does not exclude dependence on and willing help from neighbors or
from the world. It will be a free and voluntary play of mutual forces... Growth will
not be a pyramid with the apex sustained by the bottom. But it will be an oceanic
circle whose center will be the individual. Therefore the outermost circumference
will not wield power to crush the inner circle but will give strength to all within and
derive its own strength from it
Provisions have been made for community participation in schools since 1990
known as School Based Management. This is a form of decentralization and the
approach involves the transfer of decision making authority over school operations
to local stakeholders 3 . Such Community Participation in schools has been initiated
in several other countries like Nepal, Brazil, Czech Republic, and Mexico. Generally
the committee is given responsibility of monitoring, planning for schools
infrastructure and education quality, taking enrollment drive etc.

Murthy, Srinivas. Mahatma Gandhi and Leo Tolstoy Letters. Long Beach Publications:
Long Beach, 1987, pp 189.
3
Local stakeholders can be principals, parents, teachers, students and other distinguished
community members

P a g e 31

Even under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, School Management Committees
(SMCs) are needed to be constituted in every government owned/run elementary
school in the country .
Consisting mainly of parents/guardians, teachers, local educationists, children,
members of the community , SMCs are given responsibility of monitoring school
functioning and managing its finances.

3.3.2 Need of community participation

In National Education Policy 1986 special emphasis has been given to peoples
involvement , including more women in planning and management of education.
The need for community participation is to create an environment where state and
community are equal partners in enhancing the quality of education.

The

popularity of community participation is because it is a strategy for improving

responsiveness and accountability in the delivery of education services in order to
make it sustainable. The influence of local community is critical to attain
universalization of education mission at the grass root level.

3.3.3 Role of community participation in enhancing the education leading to Rural

Development
The Role of education in development either it is in urban sector or rural sector is
not debatable.

P a g e 32

Education is the most important lever for social, economic and political
transformation. A well educated population, equipped with the relevant
knowledge, attitudes and skills is essential for economic and social
development in the twenty-first century. Education is the most potent tool
for socioeconomic mobility and a key instrument for building an equitable
and just society. Education provides skills and competencies for economic
well-being
12th Five Year Plan document

The role of community participation is a key factor in improving the quality of

education.

Improvement of the quality of education is strongly linked to the quality

of physical space, textual materials, classroom processes, and academic
support to the teachers, assessment procedures and community
involvement.
12th Five Year Plan document

The quality of education depends on several factors like teacher capacity,

improving school leadership/management, strengthening academic support
system, better community and parents participation, measuring and improving
learning outcomes in a continuous manner.

Thus it is clear that community participation is a key for improving the quality of
education thus leading to development in
improvement of Human Resource.

P a g e 33

other sectors as it leads to

3.3.4 Few Successful community participation based Education program of Rajasthan

Rajasthan had pioneered a decentralized approach in the management of schools
by accepting the recommendations of the Balwantrai Mehta Committee and
providing for management of primary school by Panchayat Samitis way back in
1959.
The administrative and institutional structure of school education was modified in
1999, with education being placed directly under the purview of Panchayati Raj, in
line with the imperative to place rural development and social sectors under the
control and management of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). This lead to
increase in enrollment, synergy with other development department.
Three large scale programs in Rajasthan namely Shiksha Karmi Project , Janshala
and Lok Jumbish had community participation as their core strand. They have been
acclaimed for their innovative and creative approach which leads to successful
involvement of community and PRIs.

Lok Jumbish
The Lok Jumbish Pariyojana, was initiated in 1992. The term Lok Jumbish literary
means peoples movement. It was initiated to ensure education for all in
Rajasthan by the year 2000. The program meant to achieve this goal through
active participation of the local community. Hence it visualizes a design of
administration of education, which would enable people to manage and even
modify the delivery system. The program focuses on debureaucratisation and

P a g e 34

thoughtful decentralization of decision-making processes in primary education. It

adopts a bottom up approach.
The implementation and modification of the program was done on the
experiences gained and feedback taken at the grass root level.
Structures, processes and forums were created to engage people from the village
level community, educationists and even social workers. These were taken from
the state, cluster and block levels. An atmosphere of debate and continuous
reflection on decisions and processes was created, allowing room for sharing and
evolution of ideas. The philosophy behind Lok Jumbish sees education both as an
end in itself and as a means towards contributing to socio-economic change and
transformation, especially gender equality. Its fundamental aim is Universal
Elementary Education that, in this view, can be achieved through mobilization and
participation of people. To this effect, this programmers medium term goal is
education of girls and marginalized communities, while its long term goal is
empowerment of people .
Lok Jumbish aims to provide elementary education for all through mass
mobilization and participation of people. This in turn, it is hoped, will act as a
stimulus for human development and socio-economic development. It places
special emphasis on the education of girls and disadvantaged sections of society
and sees education as a tool for empowerment. The main components of the
programmed are qualitative improvement in formal schools, in social
environment, Sahaj Shiksha Karyakram and women's empowerment. However, it

P a g e 35

also strives for the reduction in construction cost of school buildings through
utilization of local materials and technologies.
This programmers goals are:

Providing access to primary education to all children between 5 and 14

years of age;

Striving to enroll children in regular schools, as far as possible, and in Sahaj

Shiksha centers, wherever necessary;

Ensuring that all enrolled children regularly attend school/ Sahaj Shiksha
centers and complete primary education;

Improving quality of education by emphasizing active learning, childcentered processes and achievement of at least minimum levels of learning
by all children;

Creating necessary structures and processes to empower women, making

education an instrument of women's equality;

Ensuring equity in education to all members of the society;

Modifying, if necessary, the content and processes of education to better

relate it to the environment, people's culture as well as their living and
working conditions;

Effectively involving people in the planning and management of education.

Lok Jumbish is innovative not only in its overarching aims of empowerment and
participation, but also in its attention to diverse components within the
programmed. Apart from school mapping and micro planning, at the community
level there are women's groups, adolescent girls forums, residential camps - both

P a g e 36

for girls and boys, a school health programmed and a commitment to integrating
children with disabilities into mainstream education. This is very important in the
light of the fact that, as Lok Jumbish acknowledges, it is difficult to involve
communities in micro planning on a sustained basis as, while core teams and
womens groups get involved in school mapping, the information produced is not
shared with the wider community.
The Shiksha Karmi Project
Teacher absenteeism was an issue in remotely located schools of Rajasthan. This
happened as teachers did not want to go to places with difficult terrain/ location.
4

34 To address this issue, the Rajasthan government, based on the experience of

schools.
The concept of community participation adopted by Social Work and Research
Centre (SWRC) at Tilonia was use to designed the Shiksha Karmi scheme. In this
scheme a local teacher was appointed for schools in such villages.
The project looked for people with positive attitude, high energy level and
excitement about new initiative to learn and ne a teacher. The project seeks to
generate capacity of the local youth who are individuals with modest educational
qualifications and no professional training. There is a well defined

support

structure to constantly support, encourage and upgrade their competence. As the

teacher is a local community member there is more interaction with the parents
and them acceptance easily.

Bodh Shiksha Samiti (1999), A Study of Shiksha Karmi Project Rajasthan,

P a g e 37

There was 1 Village Education Committee for every Shiksha Karmi school which
consisted of 11-15 members representing all casts, minority groups women etc.
There was a special emphasis on reaching consciences among community for all
decision related to school, selection of Shiksha Karmis, location of school etc. This
lead to positive impact on school environment and learning.
Another interesting aspect of the project is that NGOs are involved at the block
level training, education support, monthly review meetings etc and in addition to
their specific task they initiate mobilization activities.
Jan Shala
Jan Shala a community based primary education program intend to make primary
education more accessible and effective specially for girls and children in deprived
marginalized communities, minorities, working children and children with special
needs. One of the major goals of Jan Shala was to target girls and children of
marginalized population in project areas and improve their attendance and
performance in primary education.
Jan Shala adopted a community centered approach, which was flexible and open,
doing away with any rigid framework. By grounding itself in the community it was
decentralized in its planning and implementation. Since each region has its own
socio-cultural and linguistic characteristics, and varying level of literacy, the
program developed a context specific approach and design for each state and
block. The aim was to address the felt need of the community.

P a g e 38

Notable achievements of Janshala have been in the areas of community based

management, multi-grade teaching and inclusive education. It is a typical example
of decentralized planning, of empowering communities to educate their children
and fostering new partnerships

3.4

Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (The Education for All Movement) (SSA), is a Indian Government
programmed aimed at the universalisation of elementary education "in a time bound
manner", as mandated by the 86th amendment to the Constitution of India making free
and compulsory education to children of ages 614 (estimated to be 205 million in
number in 2001) a fundamental right. Currently, SSA is implemented as one of Indias
flagship programmes for universalizing elementary education. Its overall goals include
universal access and retention, bridging of gender and social category gaps in elementary
education, and enhancement in learning levels of children. SSA provides for a variety of
interventions, including, inter alia, opening of new schools and alternate schooling
facilities, construction of schools and additional classrooms, toilets and drinking water,
provisioning for teachers, periodic teacher training and academic resource support,
textbooks and support for learning achievement.

10. The RTE Act has important

implications for the overall approach and implementation strategies of SSA, and it is
necessary to harmonize the SSA vision, strategies and norms with the RTE mandate. In this

P a g e 39

context the Department of School Education and Literacy set up a Committee under the
Chairpersonship of Shri Anil Bordia, former Education Secretary, Government of India, to
suggest follow up action on SSA vis--vis the RTE Act. A copy of the Government Order No.
F.2-50/2009-EE.3 dated 3rd September, 2009 constituting the Committee and its Terms of
Reference is at Annex 1. During initial meetings of the committee it was conveyed on
behalf of the Ministry of HRD that the committee may not strictly confine itself to the
terms of reference and should as well make recommendations regarding implementation
of RTE Act 2009. Currently, SSA is implemented as one of Indias flagship programmes for
universalizing elementary education. Its overall goals include universal access and
retention, bridging of gender and social category gaps in elementary education, and
enhancement in learning levels of children. SSA provides for a variety of interventions,
including, inter alia, opening of new schools and alternate schooling facilities, construction
of schools and additional classrooms, toilets and drinking water, provisioning for teachers,
periodic teacher training and academic resource support, textbooks and support for
learning achievement. The RTE Act has important implications for the overall approach
and implementation strategies of SSA, and it is necessary to harmonize the SSA vision,
strategies and norms with the RTE mandate. In this context the Department of School
Education and Literacy set up a Committee under the Chairpersonship of Shri Anil Bordia,
former Education Secretary, Government of India, to suggest follow up action on SSA vis-vis the RTE Act. A copy of the Government Order No. F.2-50/2009-EE.3 dated 3rd
September, 2009 constituting the Committee and its Terms of Reference is at Annex 1.
During initial meetings of the committee it was conveyed on behalf of the Ministry of HRD
that the committee may not strictly confine itself to the terms of reference and should as
well make recommendations regarding implementation of RTE Act 2009 education and

P a g e 40

training systems to build learning on childrens experiences and pre-knowledge.

Additionally, interaction with State Secretaries of Education provided valuable inputs on
issues relating to the nature of central assistance, implementation structure for SSA and
RTE, and fund transfer mechanism for SSA and RTE.
As an intervention programmed, SSA has been operational since 2000-2001. However, its
roots go back to 1993-1994, when the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) was
launched, with the aim of achieving the objective of universal primary education. DPEP,
over several phases, covered 272 districts in 18 states of the country. DPEP introduced a
new approach to primary school interventions in India.5
SSA is being implemented in partnership with State Governments to cover the entire
country and address the needs of 192 million children in 1.1 million habitations.
The programmed seeks to open new schools in those habitations which do not have
schooling facilities and strengthen existing school infrastructure through provision of
additional class rooms, toilets, drinking water, maintenance grant and school
improvement grants.
Existing schools with inadequate teacher strength are provided with additional teachers,
while the capacity of existing teachers is being strengthened by extensive training, grants
for developing teaching-learning materials and strengthening of the academic support
structure at a cluster, block and district level.

http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTISPMA/Resources/Training-Events-andMaterials/india_primaryschool.pdf

P a g e 41

SSA seeks to provide quality elementary education including life skills. SSA has a special
focus on girl's education and children with special needs. SSA also seeks to provide
computer education to bridge the digital divide.

Objective of SSA
The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is to provide useful and relevant elementary education for all
children in the 6 to 14 age group by 2010. There is also another goal to bridge social,
regional and gender gaps, with the active participation of the community in the
management of schools. Following are the main objectives of SSA
1. All children in school, Education Guarantee Centre, Alternate School, 'Back-toSchool' camp by 2003
2. All children complete five years of primary schooling by 2007
3. Focus on elementary education of satisfactory quality with emphasis on education
for life.
4. Bridge all gender and social category gaps at primary stage by 2007 and at
elementary education level by 2010.
The Right to Education Act (RtE) came into force on 1 April 2010. Some educationists and
policy makers believe that, with the passing of this act, SSA has acquired the necessary
legal force for its implementation.
3.5

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Village Education Committee

One of the major components of SSA is promoting the retention of children in the
school, the emphasis has been on giving pre-eminence to peoples involvement,

P a g e 42

including association of non-governmental agencies and voluntary efforts,

inducting more women in the planning and management of e ducation. Village
Education Committee (VEC) plays a major role in bringing the positive attitudinal
change in people towards education and in mobilizing the community and
motivating parents/ guardians to send their children to schools, especially girls
and children from disadvantaged groups. They are also responsible for school
construction and maintenance, purchase of materials, school mapping and micro planning exercise, preparation of Village Education Plan and school management
as well as teacher performance.The village education committee performs
activities regarding management and maintains of the school and is particularly
useful in monitoring and supervision of primary school.

P a g e 43

Table 3.2
Constitution of Village Education Committee 6

Sno Panchayat President

1 (Chairman)

Headmaster of the school

1 (Member Secretary)

President PTA

1 (Member)

Self

Help

Group

Member 1 Member

(who is also parent)

Parents

4 Members

Ward Member or elected representative

1 Member

10

ECCE/ICDS Organizer

1 Member

11

NGO

1 Member

12

Educationists

1 Member

13

Teacher Representative

1 Member

14

Health Worker

1 Member

15

Village Administrative Officer

1 Member

16

Women Ward Member

1 Member

17

SC Ward Member

1 Member

18

NGO (IED) Worker

1 Member

19

Parent of one disabled child

1 Member

20

Youth Club Member

1 Member

Total

20 Members

Not less than one SC/ST and 1/3 of the members should be Women. Where there are two or
more schools in a Panchayat, the Panchayat President will be the Chairman of the VEC of his
choice.

http://www.ssa.tn.nic.in/Schemes-P.htm

P a g e 44

Roles and Responsibilities of VEC members in SSA context

The roles and responsibilities of Village Education Committee members have been
redefined as follows:

Identifying the needs of schools

Conducting periodical meetings to ensure co-operation of the community

Assisting the Headmaster in transparent utilization of grants released to schools

and effective utilization of funds.

To manage the Joint Account of Village Education Committee

Undertaking civil construction and maintenance works wherever assigned or

needed

Enrolment of all school-age children and ensuring cent percent completion of

elementary education of all children

Conducting campaigns and meals for Universalisation of Elementary Education

Monitoring the Academic performance of children, Attendance and Quality of

education.

Organizing functions and celebrations of the schools and public events which show
the skills of children.

Effective co-ordination with implementing agencies

Displaying school data and receipts and expenditure of grants in the school public
display board

Involvement in Teacher Training

P a g e 45

Involvement in appointment of Education Volunteers (EVs) for EGS and Alternative

and Innovative Education centers as per guidelines and directions of District
Education Committee

Monitoring the functioning of EGS & AIE centers.

VEC meetings are also conducted in school on special occasions such as

Independence Day, Children day, Republic day, Sport days and Annual day.

P a g e 46

Chapter 4
Educational, Socio and Demographic profile of
Rajasthan

P a g e 47

Chapter 4 : Educational, Socio and Demographic profile of Rajasthan

4.1

Socio Demographic Profile of Rajasthan

Population
Rajasthan has a population of 68,621,012 as per the 2011 census. The population growth
over the last ten years has been around 21.44%. The sex ratio of Rajasthan is 926 per 1000
males. The largest cities of Rajasthan are Raipur, Jodhpur and Kota. The state of Rajasthan
has 33 districts and 25 Parliamentary constituencies.

Rajasthan is situated in the northern part of India. It is the largest State in India by area
constituting 10.4 percent of the total geographical area of India and it accounts for 5.5
percent of population of India. Topographically, deserts in the State constitute a large
chunk of the land mass, where the settlements are scattered and the density of
population is quite low. It is administratively divided into 7 divisions, 32 districts, 241
Thesis, 237 Panchayat Samities, 9,189 Gram Panchayats, 39,753 inhabited villages and 188
urban local bodies as of Census 2001. Recently, a new district has been carved out in the
State namely Pratapgarh in 2008. Currently, there are 33 districts, 244 Tehsils, 249
Panchayat Samities and 9,166 Gram Panchayats. The State has a population of 56.5
million according to Census 2001.

P a g e 48

According to the population projections by the technical group on population projections

constituted by the National Commission on Population, population Projections for India
and States 2001-2026, the projected population of Rajasthan as on 1st July, 2009 is 6.60
crore (66.0 million). The decadal growth rate of population of Rajasthan is 28.41 percent
compared to 21.34 percent in case of India. In Rajasthan, there is a slight decline in the
decadal growth rate from 28.44 during 1981-1991 to 28.41 during 1991-2001. In the last
century (1901 to 2001), Rajasthans population has grown by more than five times from
1.03 to 5.65 crore compared to Indias population, which has seen a growth of more than
four times, during the same period. The density of population of the State is quite low at
165 persons per sq. km. with large scale district level variations of 13 persons per sq. km.
in Jaisalmer to 471 persons per sq. km. in Jaipur. The States literacy rate stands at 60.4
percent. The overall sex ratio is of the tune of 921 females per 1,000 males and the sex
ratio amongst the 0-6 year population is 909 females per 1,000 males. The sex ratio at
birth in the State is masculine in nature at 870 female births per 1,000 male births, which
is lower than that of India (904 female births per 1,000 male births) (SRS, 2006-08).The
percentage of Scheduled tribes in the State is 12.6 percent. It is one of the High Focus
States under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM, 2005-2012)

P a g e 49

Table 4.1
District wise Population of Rajasthan
Sno District

Population

Male

Female

Jaipur

6,626,178

3,468,507

3,157,671

Jodhpur

3,687,165

1,923,928

1,763,237

Alwar

3,674,179

1,939,026

1,735,153

Nagaur

3,307,743

1,696,325

1,611,418

Udaipur

3,068,420

1,566,801

1,501,619

Sikar

2,677,333

1,374,990

1,302,343

Barmer

2,603,751

1,369,022

1,234,729

Ajmer

2,583,052

1,324,085

1,258,967

Bharatpur

2,548,462

1,355,726

1,192,736

10

Bhilwara

2,408,523

1,220,736

1,187,787

11

Bikaner

2,363,937

1,240,801

1,123,136

12

Jhunjhunun

2,137,045

1,095,896

1,041,149

13

Churu

2,039,547

1,051,446

988,101

14

Pali

2,037,573

1,025,422

1,012,151

15

Ganganagar

1,969,168

1,043,340

925,828

16

Kota

1,951,014

1,021,161

929,853

17

Jalor

1,828,730

936,634

892,096

18

Banswara

1,797,485

907,754

889,731

19

Hanumangarh

1,774,692

931,184

843,508

20

Dausa

1,634,409

857,787

776,622

21

Chittaurgarh

1,544,338

783,171

761,167

P a g e 50

22

Karauli

1,458,248

783,639

674,609

23

Tonk

1,421,326

728,136

693,190

24

Jhalawar

1,411,129

725,143

685,986

25

Dungarpur

1,388,552

696,532

692,020

26

Sawai Madhopur

1,335,551

704,031

631,520

27

Baran

1,222,755

633,945

588,810

28

Dhaulpur

1,206,516

653,647

552,869

29

Rajsamand

1,156,597

581,339

575,258

30

Bundi

1,110,906

577,160

533,746

31

Sirohi

1,036,346

534,231

502,115

(Source

Census

of

India

http://www.census2011.co.in/census/state/rajasthan.html)

Rural Urban Distribution

P a g e 51

2011

Residents in terms of rural or urban location are important background characteristics of a

population. Urban areas usually have concentrated population with better access to
resources and facilities resulting in better indicators. India has 72.2 percent rural
population and 27.8 urban populations. In Rajasthan the percentage of rural population
(76.6) is little higher than that of the nation as a whole. Among the districts in Rajasthan,
Banswara has the highest percentage of rural population at 92.85 percentage followed by
Dungarpur(92.7 %), Barmer (92.6 %) and Jalore (92.41 %). Kota has the lowest percentage
of rural population at 46.54% followed by Jaipur (50.64%) and Ajmer (59.9 %)
Table 4.2
Educational Statistics of Rajasthan
Category of School

Total Number

Total Enrollment

Primary School

35077

7204000

Elementary School

14807

2314000

Secondary School

3844

810788

Senior Secondary School

1789

401380

Degree College

267

180743

Teacher Training College

43

6339

4.2

Status of Primary Education

The momentum for the expansion of education in Rajasthan was reinforced by the
constitutional commitment to universalization of education, as spelt out in the Directive

P a g e 52

Principles of State Policy in the Constitution of India. The approach to education in the
post Independence era addressed the infrastructure lacuna of the earlier period, which
was endemic especially in rural areas. While in 1949 the total number of primary schools
was 3,195 by 1981 it was 23,12520 and this grew up to 39,335 by 1991. But the
improvement in the number of schools does not give clear picture of the scenario of
education. ASER7 Reports have ever again reveled that despite of primary school
availability there were lack of enrollment , there were several out of school children and
the learning level of the children was very low.

4.3

Quality of Education

In the Rajasthan Human Development Report 2002-03 the state government had started
about the quality of primary education by quoting the figures of a study conducted by
Institute of Education Research and Training (SIERT). The report said that the achieve
level of the students who complete primary education, which concentrates on3R
Reading, Writing and Arithmetic paint an equally disturbing picture. The achievement
level in 10 DPEP districts, according to the baseline assessment study conducted by SIERT
is generally low.
A most recent study by Pratham leading NGO has once again brought forward facts
about the land arithmetic skills of children. Few figures of the study are as follows
Table 4.3
Learning level of children of Rajasthan
7

http://www.devnetjobsindia.org/JobDescription.aspx?Job_Id=34203

P a g e 53

Can read not Letter

Word

Std I Text

Std 2nd Text

even letter (%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

53.8

35.9

5.3

2.3

2.6

II

26.8

42.8

14.7

7.8

7.9

III

13.8

36.3

19.5

13.0

17.5

IV

8.2

23.8

18.8

19.4

29.9

4.8

14.4

14.6

19.4

46.9

VI

2.4

8.8

11.4

17.2

60.2

VII

1.3

5.7

6.7

16.7

69.6

VIII

1.3

3.3

5.6

12.4

77.5

Std

(Sourcehttp://img.asercentre.org/docs/Publications/ASER%20Reports/ASER_2012/rajasth
an.pdf)

4.4

Profile of districts being studied

Jhalawar

P a g e 54

Geography
At the border of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, nudging its fat belly into
neighboring MP is this fascinating place - Jhalawar. A mystery waiting to be
unraveled. Questions waiting to be asked, answers waiting to be found. It was the
capital of a small princely state created in 1838.
It is a rock-strewn, scrub-covered terrain, occasionally bright with fields of poppies
and citrus-green groves of oranges. Lying in the south-eastern region of Rajasthan
at the edge of the Malwa plateau, Jhalawar has rocky but water-laden verdant
landscape, unlike much of Rajasthan.
Jhalawar district is an expanse of fertile plain having rich black-cotton soil. It is
watered by several rivers, giving it a verdant look. The largest river flowing through
the area is Kali Sindh which flows through the territory to join the Chambal,
Rajasthan's largest river. Other rivers include Ujaad, Ahu, Parvan, Chavli, etc. The
Aravali hills, which are the most ancient folded mountain range in India, cross the

P a g e 55

region, roughly dividing the plains of hadoti from the Malwa plateau. These hills
and the surrounding areas were once thickly forested and teemed with wildlife.
Climate
The climate of the area is very much similar to that of the Indo-Gangatic plain, with
hot dry summer and delightfully cold winters. The monsoon is, however, quite
unlike and very distinct from the oppressive humid climate of the North India
plains. Jhalawar district is known for the highest rainfall in the Rajasthan state. An
average of 35 inches of rainfall keeps it cool, and gentle breezes ward off the
stifling humidity.
Education Status
Over 15% of the population of Jhalawar is Scheduled Casts and another 12% is
scheduled tribes. The spread of modern education stayed at a key low for most of
the post independence period in most of Rajasthan and Jhalawar was no
exception. However from the perspective of the relative position of the districts
Jhalawar enjoyed a better education profile. Jhalawar stood seventh in literacy in
the year 1904-05 among the 20 states and chief-ships of Rajputana with 3.3 % of
inhabitants (6.4% male and 0.2 % females). The scene improved in independent
India.
The initial thrust to vitalize primary education programs as provided by the Shiksha
Karmi project started in the district during the late eighties. The program had a
strong local component in the form of manpower. Evaluation reports of the
Shiksha KArmi project show significant success in reaching out to children in

P a g e 56

remote villages. However overall achievement in terms of the literacy rate was still
less than 33% in 1991.

Jodhpur

Jodhpur, the heart of Rajasthan and the majestic jewel of her eternal crown, illuminate
the Thar, enriching the desert with entrepreneurship, scholarship and art. 1949, after the
independence of India, it was merged into the newly created state of Rajasthan.
Geography
Jodhpur, one of the largest district of Rajasthan states is centrally situated in
Western region of the State, having geographical area of 22850 sq. Kms. It has
population of 36.85 lacs as per 2011 census. The district stretches between 2600
and 27037 at north Latitude and between 72 55 and 73 52 at East Longitude.
This district is situated at the height between 250-300 meters above sea level.
Jodhpur is bound by Nagaur in East, Jaisalmer in west, Bikaner in North and
Barmer as well as Pali in the South. The length of the district from North to South
and from East to West is 197 Km.& 208 Km. respectively.

P a g e 57

This district comes under arid zone of the Rajasthan state. It covers 11.60% of total
area of arid zone of the state. Some of the area of Great Indian Desert THAR also
comes within the district. General slope of the terrain is towards west. Despite its
arid climate, Jodhpur is blessed with a variety of flora and fauna. A survey
conducted by district administration with the help of forest officials shows 162
flora and 144 fauna at Machia Safari situated only 10 kms from Jodhpur.

Climate
Extreme of heat in summer and cold in winter is the characteristic of the desert.
Jodhpur is no exception. The temperature varies from 49 degree in summer to1
degree in winter. The Sandstorm (andhi) spectacle for people from other region of
India. The rainy days are limited to maximum 15 in a year. The average rainfall is
302 mm.

Topography
Soil of the district is classified mainly as sandy and loamy. Bajra ( pearl millet) is the
major crop in Kharif. Jodhpur has excellent ground water taste in many part of
district. In Rabi Wheat, Pulse and a variety of masala like Jeera, Dhania and Red
chilly are also grown. Jodhpur has a name for its red chili, onion and garlic. It is one
of the major production centres for Guar.

P a g e 58

There is no perennial river in the district. However, there are important rivers in
the district viz. Luni and Mithri Rivers but their basis saline water. Main sources of
irrigation besides rainwater are dug-wells tube-wells. The highest-irrigated area in
district is in Bilara Tehsil followed by Bhoplgarh and Osian tehsil.
The major and important minerals of the district are sand stones and Lime stones.
Fawn & Red colors sandstone of the district is very popular and found in
abundance. Besides this Building stones, stone slabs and flagstones are mined in
the district on regular basis. Minerals like quartz & clays of various colors &
dolomite are also available in the district.

Population
As per provisional reports of Census India,[5] population of Jodhpur is 1,033,918 in
2011; of which male and female nearly constitute 52.62 percent and 47.38 percent
respectively. Average literacy rate of Jodhpur city is 81.56 percent of which male
and female literacy was 88.42 and 73.93 percent respectively. Total children under
6 years of age constitute nearly 12.24 percent of city population. Jodhpur city is
governed by Municipal Corporation which comes under Jodhpur Urban
Agglomeration. The Jodhpur Urban/Metropolitan areas include Jodhpur, Kuri
Bhagtasani, Mandore Industrial Area, Nandri, Pal Village and Sangariya. Its
Urban/Metropolitan population is 1,137,815 of which 599,332 are males and
538,483 are females, on the date: 01/10/2013 the record of citypopulation.de
website shows Jodhpur city is having Population of 1,260,000

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P a g e 60

Chapter 5
Conclusion and Suggestion

P a g e 61

Chapter 5 : Conclusion and Suggestions

Following were the findings of the study
5.1 Constitution of SMC as per the provision of RTE
The article 21 of RTE mandates the formation of School Management Committee
for the management. The constitution criteria for the SMCs are also clearly
articulated in RTE.
In all the 10 schools SMC were constituted according to the rules of RTE.
This information was found from the data of the SMC members which was
provided by the school administration.
5.2 Awareness among the SMC members
The data collected indicated that more than 65% of SMC members have heard
about RTE Act. Only 45% knew about the meaning of the act.
Table 5.1
Response to Question Have you heard about RTE?
Sno

Query

Yes

No

Heard about RTE Act

65

35

Know the meaning of RTE

45

55

On asking how many of them know that SMC is constituted under RTE Act, 82% of
the respondents responded positively. While asking how many members should
be there in an SMC as per the provision of RTE, only 40 % answered correctly. 24%
said that they were not aware and 36% of them provided wrong answer.

P a g e 62

Figure 1: Respondents who have not heard of

RTE in different category (%)
60
50

55 %
45 %

40
30

22 %

20
10

0%
0
Father

Mother

PRI Member

Teacher

One of the guardians elected from the executive committee is given the position of
chairperson. This was known to only 58% of the respondents. 47% of the respondents
were aware that the chairperson is an elected person and they are elected by the
SMC members.

Figure 2: Do you know you are member of

SMC?
Yes

No

Cant Say

2%
20%

78%

P a g e 63

For running the activity of a school there should be 15 members executive committee in
which 11 members (3/4th) would be from guardian. It is also necessary to have 50% or at
least 7 women in the executive committee. While it was asked that how many members
must be females, only 32% of the respondents answered correctly.
While being the member of the members of SMC , 20% of the respondents did not know
that they were members of SMC, however 78% knew that they were members of SMC.
Out of the members who confirmed their membership in the SMC 72% accepted the
feeling of attachment with the school.

5.2 Committee Meetings

The executive member of SMC must meet once in a month and to take any decision in
the meeting. It is essential that 1/3rd of the member s be present in the meeting. Member
secretary will provide written information to the members about the meeting four days
before the meeting.
82% of the respondents positively accepted about the execution of the committee
meeting. Out of these respondents who accepted about the execution of meetings. 68%
of the respondents accepted that it takes place every month. However 25% of the
respondents said that meeting happens only once in 6 month. Since 25% of respondents
know that the frequency of SMC meeting is once in 6 months that indicates that they
attend or called in meeting after this long gap.

P a g e 64

Figure 3 : Frequency of SMC meetings

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Once in six months

Twice in a month

Once in a month

It was asked to the member of the SMC that whether you have ever attended the meeting
of the SMC. Around 20% of the respondents found never ever have attended the meeting
of the SMC.
Responding to the question of regularly getting information about the execution of
meeting, around 77% of the respondents told that they are getting calls to attend the
meeting of SMC but only 47% of the people had knowledge that presence of 2/3 rd
members is mandatory for taking any decision.

P a g e 65

Figure 4: Do you contribute expectedly in

the meetings?
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Yes

No

Cant Say

Kept Mum

68% of them accepted that the meetings are contributing towards the development of the
school and 61% were aware that some fund is also there for spending on the discretion of
SMC but 39% of the people were either not aware or not able to say about any fund
allocated to SMC for the development of schools. Around 39% of the respondents said
that no consent is taken in the committee meeting about spending the money.
Table 5.2
Response to the question are meetings contributing towards development of the
school?
Sno

Item

Yes

No

Cant Say

towards 68

26

Do you know a fund is allocated to the SMC to spend for 61

23

15

Is

committee

meeting

contributing

development of the schools?

2

development of the school?

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Do the SMC spend the money with the consent of SMC?

62

21

19

Whether TLM used in education in the school?

83

13

5.3 Comparative Study of the two districts

Awareness on RTE
While doing the comparative study it was found that Jhalawar is behind Jodhpur on the
level of awareness about RTE act.

Figure 5 : SMC member heard about RTE

Act (District wise)
100
80
60
Yes

40

No

20
0
Jodhpur

Jhalawar

Few questions were asked from SM members to assess their knowledge about the
number of members, their composition etc. It was found that about the number of t the
situation is note satisfactory. While asking about the number of members in SMC it was
found that situation at Jhalawar is not good as Jodhpur.

P a g e 67

Figure 6 : How many members are there

in SMC ? (District wise)
75

80
60

55
45

40

Know

25

Dont Know

20
0
Jodhpur

Jhalawar

Chairperson and appointment

Responding to the question on chairperson of the committee it was found that more
respondents in Jodhpur knew about the appointment of the chairperson. In Jodhpur 65%
knew the chairperson and in Jhalawar only 59% knew.

Figure 7 : Do you know who is the

chirperson of the ?(District wise)
66

65

64
62
60

59

Know

58
56
Jodhpur

Jhalawar

Female Membership
Almost all the members of the SMC in both the district were quite aware that there is
mandatory provision of giving membership to the females in the SMC. But on the number
of females there should be in the SMC the situation was very grim. Only 35 % in Jodpur

P a g e 68

knew about the correct number if females there should be in the SMC and only 17% in
Jhalawar knew.
Committee Meeting
The concept of regular committee meeting of the SMC is very important to achieve its
objective. It is envisaged as a platform for discussing the school problem and its local
solution with the help of committee. Committee also sees its involvement in the process
of the school and provide their help in solving problems and taking decisions.
Since respondents are the member of the SMC, unawareness on part of these members
show that these meetings either do not happen regularly or the members are not
participating and they are also not getting any information regarding the meeting from
member secretary.
The following data shows that it seems that less committee meetings are happening in
Jhalawar in comparison to Jodhpur.

Figure 8 : How many times in a month the

SMC meeting should be
conducted(District wise)
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

40

Once in a month

30

Twice in a month
0
Jodhpur

P a g e 69

65

60

5
Jhalawar

Once in 6 months

This clearly indicates that the meetings are not happening or not happening with the 2/3 rd
quorum needed for decision making for any work related to management or development
of the school.

P a g e 70

5.2 Conclusion
It is evident from the data that the level of awareness about Right to Education Act among
the SMC members is quite low. And when we compare the 2 districts the situation is
worse in Jhalawar. The members are also having very less information on the provision of
the Act. An Act or law does not become successful until or unless people start utilizing the
Act. And for utilizing it they should be aware of the Act and its features. There are various
provisions in the Right to Education Act like 25 percentages of seats are reserved for poor
children in all kinds o school which have direct implication over the people. SMC
members can spread the information widely and thus they can be an agent of better
implementation of RTE Act in their area. The RTE Act also talks about the pupil teacher
ratio, facilities and infrastructure mandatory for the schools. These provisions lead to
enhancement in the quality of education. So if SMC are able to get these resources
utilized properly this will lead to enhancement of quality of education and the children
will get good education and thus enhancing the Human resource of the village. This will
definitely lead to Rural Development.

It was also experienced that the meetings are not taking place regularly and it has become
routine. Simply for the sake of conducting meeting few members of the SMC meet and
complete the meeting procedure. The participation of females in the SMC is not
happening according to the guidelines. It was envisaged in the act that participation of
females will improve the status of the functioning of the SMC and that is why 50% of the
membership was reserved for females.

P a g e 71

The condition in Jhalawar is bad than that of Jodhpur. We cannot overlook that
according to the ASER education report the learning level of children in Jhalawar
is less than that of Jodhpur. Though it is quite prime but we cant overlook the
proportional attribute of learning level with the functioning of the SMC.

P a g e 72

5.3: Suggestions

The relationship between community, teacher and other stakeholders is

weakening. The SMC should strive to get this relationship stronger which will
ultimately lead to enhancing the quality of education and thus lead to rural
development by preparing strong human resource.

SMC Should hold regular meetings, develop plans and outputs with time frames
and designate persons responsible. They should coordinate house to house
campaigns, organize school cultural and sporting activities, arrange open day for
parents to visit and for special award to motivate children. Provide recreational
facilities in the school premises and adults to teach and supervise children, discuss
needy children within the community and how to support them I.e., fund raising
activities and projects and or approach to agencies to support the cause.

SMC should work with other stakeholders to identify children who are not in
school and/or risk of drop out i.e. civil union, church based group, local NGO etc.
Make announcement about enrollment and government policies such as
compulsory basic education, no school fee and capitation grants. And enact by
laws to deal with parents who refuse to send children to school for reaching the
ultimate goal of SMC and RTE act

The SMC should have greater ownership in the district education department and
communities. The practical role of SMC played in school improvement and their
sharing of progress with education official should contribute to their overall
acceptance be the district education department.

P a g e 73

The participatory approach for the mobilization of the SMC and their working style
should be transparent. The community should also extend significant support to
SMC members in their initiative to improve the schools.

Capacity building of SMC members in order to take appropriate decision for the
development of the schools

The SMC should ensure that the Teaching Learning Material (TLM) which are
provided to the school are utilized for educating the children.

School Management Committees (SMC) should be trained and sensitized on needs

and strengths of children and a training module for the same should be finalized.
SMCs should ensure that school development plans include the full participation of
children. SMCs must have as a member, a parent or inclusion enabler.

Learning from success stories and examples of best practice is a necessary

component of a successful education strategy. Rajasthan has long been the
crucible of experimentation with regard to school education. The lessons from
programmes such as Non Formal Education, Shiksha Karmi, Lok Jumbish, etc., must
be incorporated into the future education strategy of the state.

Administration should spend 20% of the budget on education . Generating

awareness among various stakeholders. People should be imparted education on
various provisions of the Act through various rural and urban means of education

P a g e 74

The implementing agency should see the shortcomings in the execution of RTE Act
especially in context of functioning of SM. If only awareness happens and
implementation does not happen then it is going to cause a lot of disappointment
on the part o the parents who want to utilize the provisions of the Act and benefit
from it

P a g e 75

Reference

P a g e 76

Reference

The Future Population of India. A Long Range Demographic View,

Population Foundation of India and Population Reference Bureau, 2007

Right to Education Act 2009, Critical Gaps and Challenges, Praveen Jha,
Pooja Parvati, Economics and Political Weekly , March 27, 2010

PRATEM ASER Report 2013

Web Resource

http://www.ncert.nic.in/departments/nie/dee/publication/pdf/Statusrepo
rtRTE2013.pdf

Empowering schools and school management committees (SMCs)_

Unpacking decision-making in Indias schools\

http://www.accountabilityindia.in/accountabilityblog/2510-empoweringschools-and-school-management

SSA - Functional Areas _ Community Mobilization and SMC _ Composition

of the School Management Committee

http://gujarateducation.gov.in/ssa/functional_areas/smc_training/composi
tion_of_SMC.htm

P a g e 77

http://www.azimpremjifoundation.org/pdf/rajasthan%20rules.pdf

http://planningcommission.gov.in/plans/planrel/12thplan/pdf/12fyp_vol3.
pdf

P a g e 78

http://ssa.nic.in/

http://www.ssadelhi.delhigovt.nic.in/projectbackground.htm

http://www.ssa.tn.nic.in/Schemes-P.htm

Annexure

P a g e 79

Annexure 1
A comparative study of the status of School Management Committees established
under Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, in two districts of Rajasthan

Questionnaire 1 : For the School Administration

Information to be collected from the School Administration

1. Has SMC been established in your school?

2. What is the tenure of the School Management Committee?

3. Please provide us a list of the members of the SMC.

4. Please provide us the minutes of the meeting of the committee for the past 1 year

P a g e 80

Questionnaire 2 : For the SMC Members

/
( / ()/ () /
1. ?

(i)

(ii)

(iii)

2. ?

(i)

(ii)

(iii)

3.

?
(i)

(ii)

(iii)

4. ?

___________________________
5. ? ?

P a g e 81

__________________________________________________
___

6. ?

(i)

(ii)

(iii)

6.1 , ?

________________________________________________
7. ?

(i)

(ii)

(iii)

7.1 ,

?
(i)

(ii)

(iii)

8. ?

(i)

(ii)

(iii)

8.1 , ?
(i)

P a g e 82

(ii) 2

iii) :

9. ?
9.1 , ?

(i)

(ii)

(iii)

Annexure 2: Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act,

2009

P a g e 83