In order to bridge the gap between parents and the government, the Delhi government organised the first ever “SMC Sabha” for school management committees (SMCs) of government schools located in the Burari Assembly constituency.

The SMC Sabha is one more step towards making the government accountable to parents of children studying in government schools. SMC members from 15 schools of Burari had assembled in the Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya, Civil Lines, to share their grievances with officials. The concept of the SMC Sabha was to provide a platform to parent SMC members to voice their issues with the schools to the concerned officials, in order to ensure effective and speedy resolution.

Deputy chief minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia was present at the event and encouraged parents to speak about the problems they were facing. He said, “The government is very keen on involving parents and the community in school administration. SMCs are playing a very constructive role in improving the condition of government schools today. This is an extraordinary event, since it is the first time that the government and parents are meeting, discussing and resolving problems as one team. Strengthening and empowering Delhi’s SMCs has been a top priority of the government for more than a year.”

The minister sought tighter deadlines for completion of work and pulled up officials who were found to be lax. He said he will follow-up all commitments made by officials to ensure work get completed on time. When a parent complained of poor grain quality in mid day meals, Mr Sisiodia inquired with the contractor, and gave him a week’s deadline to improve food quality, failing which the contractor would be penalised and replaced.

At the Sabha, the minister’s advisor Atishi Marlena said, “SMCs have changed the way Delhi government schools function for the better and this effort was to make the government directly answerable to parents of children who study in our schools. The turnout at the Sabha is very heartening and SMC members will return home today with even more confidence to perform their responsibilities in their schools.”