Village Education Committee (VEC)
Village Education Committee (VEC) is
a regulatory body that exists at school level in a village to ensure community
participation in smooth functioning of the school. The Government orders
related to VEC are 1. G.O. 53 , dated: 26.04.2002 and 2. G.O.108 , dated :31.07.2003
Constitution
of VEC
Panchayat
President
|
1
(Chairman)
|
Headmaster of
the school
|
1 (Member
Secretary)
|
President
PTA
|
1
(Member)
|
Self Help
Group Member
(who is also
parent)
|
1 Member
|
Parents
|
4
Members
|
Ward Member
or elected
Representative
|
1 Member
|
ECCE/ICDS
Organiser
|
1
Member
|
NGO
|
1
Member
|
Educationists
|
1
Member
|
Teacher
Representative
|
1
Member
|
Health
Worker
|
1
Member
|
Village
Administrative Officer
|
1
Member
|
Women
Ward Member
|
1
Member
|
SC
Ward
Member
|
1
Member
|
NGO
(IED) Worker
|
1
Member
|
Parent
of one disabled child
|
1
Member
|
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.
|
|
Roles and
Responsibilities of VEC members in SSA context
The
G.Os issued by the State Government have also been instrumental in empowering
the VECs to accelerate the programme through decentralized and participative
approaches. 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 utilisation of grants released to schools and
effective utilisation 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 melas for Universalisation of Elementary Education
· Monitoring
the Academic performance of children, Attendance and Quality of education.
· Organising
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
· Involvement
in appointment of Education Volunteers (EVs) for EGS and Alternative and
Innovative Education centres as per guidelines and directions of District
Education Committee
· Monitoring
the functioning of EGS & AIE centres.
· VEC
meetings are also conducted in school on special occasions such as Independence
day, Children day, Republic day, Sport days and Annual day.
Some of the good
practice of VECs
Community
Mobilization
1. School Management
VEC prepares school
development plan which envisages among other things, opening of new schools,
EGS and AIE centres and upgradation of Primary into middle schools and sends
the same to DPO through BRC. The requirements of buildings, toilet and water
facilities are also assessed by VEC to include them in plan.
·
Identifying the needs of schools
·
Assisting the Headmaster in
transparent utilisation of grants release to schools and effective utilisation
of funds
·
Organising functions of the schools
and public events which show the skills of children.
·
Displaying school data , receipts
and expenditure of grants in the school public display board.
·
Monitoring the functioning of EGS
and AIE centres
2. Monitoring Teachers and Students
Attendance
Teachers’ attendance
is closely monitored by VECs. As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, teacher
attendance is not at all an issue. In VEC meetings, the Headmasters as Member
Secretary monitor the long absentees. HM and VEC members meet the parents in
their houses and persuade them to send their wards to schools without absenting
in future.
3. Construction Works
Construction of classrooms
with friendly elements has been entrusted to VECs. The community undertakes all
constructions, except BRC buildings. Several VECs have save money by following
transparent procedures in the purchase of materials, availing of free labour
and have also received contribution in cash and kind from the community. They
have utlised the money saved/received for additional provisions to building
such as overhead tank, staircase, tiled flooring, additional room water
facilities, toilets etc., and for other purchases such as furniture for
children.
4. Girls Enrolment
Girls’ education is
included under Special Focus Group in all the Districts. KGBV and NPEGEL are
the other special programmes implemented for girl children. VEC lists the names
of girl children in the age group 6-14 age from the VER. VEC discusses the
problems of non-enrolment of girl children and in case of problems convinces
the parents to send their girls to schools or to admit them in KGBV.
5. Out-of-school children
VEC members list the
names of out-of-school children found in EER. In addition to this the
Headmaster as Secretary of the committee identifies the names of students
absenting for more than ten days from school. The parents of these children are
persuaded to readmit them either in school or bridge courses VECs are involved
in continuously monitoring the mainstreamed children in school.
6. Teacher appointment
The salary of the PTA
teacher is paid by VEC from their own contribution. Teacher appointments are
made by the Government for the permanent posts in the school.
7. Campaigns
Thousands of
Awareness Campaigns and Melas are conducted every year by VEC to create
awareness about the importance of education among the community. Door-to-door
campaigns are also undertaken to ensure cent percent enrolment. These exercises
have yield positive results in terms of substantial increase in Net Enrolment
Rate (NER) in both Primary and Upper Primary sections during the last five
years.
8. School improvement programmes
VECs/ PTAs actively
participate in celebration of Independence Day (15th August), Children’s Day
and Republic Day (26th January). Competitions are conducted for children in
Dance, Drama, Singing, Painting, and Essay Competition are during such
important days to encourage their participation.
Training to VEC
Members
The
VECs in Tamilnadu have been duly oriented in the areas of planning,
implementation and monitoring of the educational interventions at
school/village level. The members have been given orientation/training on their
roles and responsibilities in SSA context. They have also been given exposure
in micro-planning. The training has been helpful in inculcating a sense of
community ownership among VEC members. Around 1.5 lakh members have been
trained during the current year on quality construction, Monitoring teachers
and pupils attendance, etc.
School
Management Committee
Each Government and
Aided Elementary school should constitute the School Management Committee. The members of the School Management
Committee in Tamilnadu are Headmaster, Teachers, Students, Parents Teacher
Association member or Parent, President of the Panchayat or Ward member of the
area and the local educationists.
Rules
and Regulations to be followed to constitute SMC
ü
Minimum
of 20 members should be appointed in the SMC
ü
75%
of the strength of the said Committee shall be from amongst parents or
guardians of children, with proportionate representation to the parents or
guardians of children belonging to disadvantaged group and weaker section.
ü
The
remaining 25% of the strength of the Committee shall be from amongst the
following persons namely:
·
one
third members from amongst local educationists or children in the school, to be
decided by the parents in the said committee;
·
one
third members from amongst the elected members of the local authority, to be
decided by the local authority;
·
one
third members from amongst teachers from the school, to be decided by the
parents in the said committee.
ü
50%
of the members of the committee shall be woman
ü
To
manage its affairs, the Committee shall elect a Chairperson and Vice
Chairperson from among 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 ex-officio member-convenor
of the committee meeting. In the case of
an aided school, the school manager/correspondent/Secretary or his nominee from
the School Committee shall be the Chairperson.
ü
The
Committee shall meet at least once in a month in the school premises and the
minutes and decisions of the meeting shall be properly recorded and made
available to the public.
Role
and Responsibilities of the members of SMC
The
Committee shall,
a) Communicate in
simple and creative ways to the population in the neighbourhood of the school,
the rights of the child, the duties of the State Government, local authority,
school, parent and guardian.
b) Bring to the notice
of the local authority any denial of the rights of the child, denial of
admission and timely provision of free entitlements.
c) Ensure the enrolment
and continued attendance of all the children from the neighbourhood in the
school;
d) Monitor the
maintenance of the norms and standards prescribed in the Schedule.
e) Identify the needs,
prepare a plan, and monitor the implementation of the present scheme.
f) Monitor the identification
and enrolment of and facilities for learning by disabled children, and ensure
the participation in, and completion of elementary education
g) Monitor the
implementation of the Mid-day meal programme in the school
h) Prepare and submit
an annual account of receipts and expenditure of the school to the local
authority within three months from the date of expiry of the every financial
year.
i) Any money received
by the committee for the discharge of its functions shall be kept in a separate
account, to be made available for audit every year.
SCHOOL
MANAGEMENT & DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE (SMDC)
The
School Management & Development Committee should be constituted in every
Government and Aided High and Higher Secondary Schools. The members of the SMDC are
Headmaster
|
1
|
Chairman
|
Teacher representative
Assistant Headmaster (in-charge of IX & X) or Teacher
|
1
|
Member
|
Urban –
(i)
Ward
member of the area in Corporation or
(ii)
Municipal
Ward member of the area in Municipal limit or
(iii)
Ward
member of the Town panchayat Rural – President/Ward member of the village
panchayat
|
1
|
Member
|
PTA Representative
|
1
|
Member
|
Social Worker/NGO Worker/SHG
Worker
|
1
|
Member
|
Total
|
5
|
|
Roles
and Responsibilities
·
Opening
and operating Joint account – Chairman (Headmaster) and Member (PTA representative) Assisting the Chairman in transparent and
effective utilization of grants
released to school
·
Collection
of data under SEMIS
·
Identifying
the needs of the School
·
Planning,
Implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all School level activities.
·
Taking
corrective/remedial actions on all the components/intervention of the scheme
infrastructural as well as academic and others at the school level.
·
Conduction
of Sports/games, organizing art, literary and creative activities for children
·
Ensuring
utility of Government welfare scheme to the children
·
Encouraging
the children to participate in the National and State Level Talent Tests.
·
Planning
for life skill development for children
·
Completeness
in school facilities and environment at all levels Institutional planning
·
The
Committee will maintain all the relevant records for recurring as well as non
recurring expenditure.
·
These
records will be updated on a regular basis and placed before the committee in
every meeting.
Preparation
of School Development Plan
The Committee shall
prepare a School Development Plan for every three years period comprising of
three annual sub-plans:
The School
Development Plan shall contain the following details:
·
Estimates
class-wise enrollment for each year
·
Determines
the required number of teachers for the classes 1to 5 as well as for the
classes 6 to 8 as per the norms and standards
·
Physical
requirement of additional infrastructure and equipments over the three year
period, calculated, with reference to the norms and standards
·
Additional
financial requirement over the three year period, year-wise
·
The
School Development Plan shall be prepared and signed by the Chairperson/Vice
Chairperson and Convenor of the Committee and submitted to the local authority
before the end of the financial year in which it is prepared.
PROVISION OF SCHOOL ACCESS IN TAMILNADU
Provision of school access to all
habitation is ensured to enroll all school age children.
As per Household Survey 2005
there are 80,593 habitations, 8,713 are urban in Tamil Nadu.
Among the 80,593 habitations
79,944 habitations are served with primary schools, 247 habitations served by
EGS(Education Guarantee Scheme) centers.
The number of habitations not served with primary schools/EGS centers is 402.
Number of habitation eligible for primary as per state norms is 210 and the number
of habitation not eligible for primary but eligible for EGS is 83. The number
of habitation not eligible for EGS is 109 which mean these habitations are
scarcely populated and which do not have 10/15 school age children to start EGS
canters.
Though all the eligible
habitations are provided upper primary school access as per norms, there are
deserving primary schools fulfilling the norms to be upgraded into upper
primary schools for special reasons. The number of primary schools to be
upgraded into upper primary is 338.
The number of habitation served
with upper primary school is 80,220, number of habitation without upper primary
school access within 3 k.m. is 395 number of habitations eligible for upper
primary school as per distance and population norms is 338 which is eligible
for upper primary.
The primary, upper
primary ratio in the State is 2.70:1. The number of school eligible as per 2:1
norms is 5162. However, only 338 schools
fulfill the norms for upgradation. The primary upper primary ratio after upgradation will be 2.64:1. The primary and upper primary ratio is high in Villupuram District. 5.60:1.
Access – Primary & Upper Primary
In Tamilnadu, it has been reported that 100 percent access at Primary level has
been achieved during 2002-2003 and 100 percent access at Upper Primary level
has also been achieved during the year 2004-2005. Nevertheless, with population
growing and new habitations springing up the need for new schools is constantly
reviewed. The School Mapping Exercise conducted during the current year has
revealed that there are still some habitations which are in need of Primary
Schools and Upper Primary Schools. There are also a few habitations which do
not qualify for the opening of Primary Schools where the State proposes to open
new EGS Centers. This effort is to provide additional access to enroll and
retain girls and SC/ST children in the select pockets.
Opening
of New Schools
During
2001-2002, 452 Primary Schools were opened and 197 Primary Schools were
upgraded into Upper Primary Schools, and in 2002-2003, 304 Primary Schools were
opened and 479 Primary Schools were upgraded into Upper Primary Schools. During
2003-2004, 356 Primary Schools were opened and 399 Primary Schools were
upgraded into Upper Primary Schools and in 2004-2005, 1,031 Primary schools
have been upgraded into Upper Primary schools. During 2005-2006, 162 Primary
Schools have been opened and 684 Primary Schools have been upgraded into Upper
Primary Schools.
As many
as 1,274 new Primary Schools have been opened and 2,790 Primary Schools have
been upgraded into Upper Primary Schools so far towards achieving the 100
percent landmark of access at both levels in the State. However, there are some
habitations which are in need of Primary Schools. There are also a few
habitations where the State proposes to provide additional schooling access on
the basis of the SSA norm of Upper Primary – Primary Schools Ratio of 1
: 2 and to improve retention and reduce dropouts of
especially Girls and SC/ST children in the select habitations.
Providing minimum
facilities
Infrastructure
Facilities in Tamilnadu
The construction of
BRC buildings is undertaken by PWD. The community takes up all the other
constructions - CRC buildings, two classroom buildings, three classroom
buildings, additional classrooms, toilets and water supplies. The District
Engineers in the DPOs do technical support to community constructions and
monitoring of the quality of constructions.. Construction of classrooms with
child-friendly elements, disabled child-friendly provisions like ramps have
been ensured in both PWD and community constructions.
Various workshops
have been organized over the years for the District Engineers by the State
Project Directorate on soil condition, type of foundation to be provided,
structural designs, procurement process, low cost and cost effective method of
construction and good construction practices etc. Along with this, the District
Engineers have been sensitized to monitor effective use of maintenance grant in
the schools. An innovative project has been implemented ‘BaLA’ (Building
as Learning Aid) during the year.
The VECs have also been oriented
on the construction process, maintenance of quality construction, maintenance
of accounts for civil work, procurement of materials and submission of
utilization certificates.
The
following Table gives the details of the target in civil works and its progress
during the years 2001 – 2011.
Progress
in Civil Works – 2001-2011
S.NO
|
CIVIL WORKS
|
STATUS OF WORK
|
||
Target
|
Completed
|
Progress
|
||
1
|
Block Resource Centres
|
280
|
280
|
0
|
2
|
Cluster Resource Centres
|
2922
|
2922
|
0
|
3
|
Primary School Buildings
|
2554
|
2383
|
171
|
4
|
Upper Primary School buildings
|
5685
|
5239
|
446
|
5
|
Additional Classroom buildings
|
32063
|
28035
|
4028
|
6
|
HM Room
|
2646
|
1912
|
734
|
7
|
Toilets
|
17229
|
16911
|
318
|
8
|
Separate Girls Toilet
|
14847
|
7048
|
7799
|
9
|
Water Supply
|
12369
|
12058
|
311
|
10
|
Compound Wall
|
63740
|
48594
|
15146
|
11
|
Ramps
|
10703
|
10703
|
0
|
12
|
Electrifications
|
3910
|
3910
|
0
|
13
|
BaLA
|
360
|
360
|
0
|
|
Total
|
169308
|
140355
|
28953
|
Of the 280 BRC buildings approved, 280 buildings
have been completed. Out of the 2952 CRC buildings approved, 2918 buildings
have been completed and the remaining buildings are in various stages of
completion. Of the 2554 primary buildings approved, 2383 buildings have been
completed and the remaining works are in progress. Of the 5685 upper
primary buildings approved, 5239 buildings have been completed and the
construction of the remaining buildings is in progress. Of the 2646 HM Rooms
approved, 1912 have been completed and the remaining works are in progress. Of
the 32063 Additional classrooms approved, 28035 have been completed and the
remaining works are in progress. Among 17229 toilets approved, 16911 works have
been progress. Of the 14847 Girls toilet approved, 7048 have been completed and
the remaining works are in progress. Provisions of water supply have been
approved for 12369 schools. Of these, 12058 works have been completed. Of
the target of 10703 ramps approved, 10703 works have been completed. Of the
target of 3910 electrification approved, 3910 works have been completed. Of the
target of 360 bala approved, 360 works have been completed.
The 11th JRM observes,
“……Through 2002-2003 to 2009-2010, the community has contributed about Rs.104
crore for building construction, toilets, play material and other school needs
like computer, library books, teaching learning equipment. In two of the
schools visited the community had provided a PA system, water supply, sections
of the boundary wall, and gifts for the children during school competitions and
towards public functions at the school. In one school the community gave land
and shramdaan for construction of the building, when it was being
upgraded. Interactions with the community and Panchayat members revealed that
they were pleased with the performance of children in the schools and wanted
them to do better, so they felt that they must give something to the schools,
which children needed. They felt that children’s learning was much more visible
since the introduction of ABL and they were able to see the progress of their
children while the class was on. In two villages the community was proud that
none of the children was out of school…..”
The
11th Joint Review Mission has interacted with the community members
and their observation is as follows.
“…….Many VECs in Tamil Nadu have been
playing an active role in the planning, implementation and support of
educational interventions at school/village level. They have taken up
construction, monitoring teachers and pupils’ attendance, etc. Annually, 30th
July is celebrated by all VECs as an Education Day during which parents and
community members, elected representatives are invited to the schools to
witness the learning and creative activities of children, especially girls.
This has helped in creating awareness and value for girls’ education through
extra-curricular and cultural activities. VECs have been active in making
financial and other contributions to schools…….”
The above two observations of 11th
Joint Review Mission revealed that the achievements of SSA were possible only
with the participation of the School Education Committees.
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