Education Ministry Releases NEP-Aligned School Management Committee Guidelines

The Ministry of Education has shared new directives for school management committees on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. A recommendation suggests elected parents or guardians should be the chairperson and vice-chairperson. 

The Education Department recommends the principal or school head serve as member secretary. The guidelines propose the principal or school head act as the member secretary for these panels, which will include two sub-committees for academic affairs and infrastructure development.

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan noted that while these committees exist, they must now be integrated into the culture of school education. Aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, these instructions replace mandates. They aim to increase community involvement from pre-primary through class 12, acting as a template for states to draft their protocols.

The Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, requires schools to form management committees with representatives, parents, and faculty. The law mandates that parents or guardians make up three-fourths of the membership, and women must constitute at least half of the total to oversee development and grant management.

Recommendations suggest committee size scale by enrollment, 12 to 15 members for schools with up to 100 students, 15 to 20 for mid-sized schools, and 20 to 25 for institutions over 500 students. Besides parents serving as leaders, panels will include guardians from each grade level, officials, teachers, and school heads. Participation from alumni, experts, and frontline workers (ASHA/Anganwadi staff) is encouraged. These bodies monitor initiatives like PM-POSHAN, Samagra Shiksha, and NIPUN Bharat. They also manage resource mobilization and oversee projects valued up to Rs. 30 lakh. To ensure transparency, the school head will start elections for members at the beginning of each academic session. The members will serve a two-year term.