The National Council of CBSE Schools has said that school management committee (SMC) guidelines issued by the Ministry of Education are not applicable to private and unaided schools that do not receive any aid or grants from the government or local authority concerned for meeting their expenses.

The council, in a communication to schools affiliated with the CBSE, said the Union Ministry had made the clarification in the wake of concerns over the implementation of the guidelines, particularly with reference to schools in the unaided sector.

The council had raised the matter with Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan and Department of School Education and Literacy Secretary Sanjay Kumar.

The Ministry’s clarification came on Thursday. It, however, urged unaided schools to constitute the SMCs to promote transparency, accountability, and participatory governance. Education was a shared responsibility of the government, schools, parents, and the community. Strengthening collaboration among stakeholders was essential to improving functioning of schools and ensuring better learning outcomes for children, the clarification said.

The council expressed hope that the clarification would provide unaided schools a better understanding of compliance requirements.