Centre clarifies SMC rules, exempts private unaided schools

Jaipur: A day after private school associations challenged the Centre’s School Management Committee (SMC) Guidelines 2026, the Ministry of Education clarified Thursday that private unaided schools exempted under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, will not be covered by the new provisions, while continuing to encourage such institutions to voluntarily constitute SMCs.

The clarification follows representations by the Association of Independent Schools of India and other private school bodies, which argued that the guidelines mandating the formation of SMCs for all schools were inconsistent with the RTE Act. The associations sought an explicit clarification that the guidelines should apply only to govt and govt-aided institutions.

In a statement, the ministry said the SMC Guidelines 2026 were issued to strengthen community participation in school education and foster greater transparency, accountability and participatory governance.

“Education is a shared responsibility of the govt, schools, parents and the community, and strengthening collaboration among all stakeholders remains essential for improving school functioning and ensuring better learning outcomes for children,” the ministry said.

It added that the objective of the guidelines is to create community ownership of schools by bringing all stakeholders onto a common platform. The ministry acknowledged receiving representations and concerns regarding the applicability of the guidelines to differently managed schools in the context of Section 21 of the RTE Act.

“In view of the concerns raised and after due consideration, the Ministry, through a communication dated May 20 addressed to all states and union territories, clarified that the schools mentioned in Section 2(n)(iv) of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, would not be covered by these Guidelines, provided they have not received any kind of aid or grants from the appropriate govt or local authority to meet their expenses,” the statement mentioned.

The ministry, however, encouraged private unaided schools to establish SMCs voluntarily to promote stakeholder participation and strengthen school governance.