HYDERABAD, June 16: Iqra University and the district’s education department have been asked to complete the formation of 157 school management committees (SMCs), for middle and high schools, by the end of summer vacations. Speaking at a meeting here on Thursday, EDO (finance and planning) Mohammad Sharif Awan said that the district had under the guidelines of provincial government hired the Iqra University to help form 157 SMCs under agreed methodology before the commencement of new academic year.

According to the methodology each school would have a five-member SMC comprising a chairman elected from among parents, head of school as general secretary, two members nominated by union council nazim and one elected by stakeholders, he said adding the committee’s tenure would be from one to two years.

Mr Awan said that students, parents and teachers of concerned schools would make the electoral college in case of contest for the post of chairman and a member.

He said that the purpose of SMCs was not only to ensure community participation in the education but also to see to it that the SMCs’ funds were utilised in a transparent manner.

In addition to 93 middle schools and 74 high schools, the district was running 848 primary schools SMCs, he said.

A huge amount of Rs42.044 million had been spent through the SMCs for providing facilities to schools last year, and Rs45.930 million had been earmarked for the new financial year, he said.

He said that out of this amount Rs34.276 million would be provided to the primary schools’ SMCs and Rs8.016 million would be distributed among the middle schools’ SMCs.

Similarly, the high schools’ SMCs would receive their share of Rs3.638 million.

He said that the SMCs’ funds would be allocated at the rate of Rs210 per student.

Mr Awan directed the DO education to provide lists of middle and secondary schools to the management of Iqra University and nominate ADOs education of concerned talukas as election commissioners for conducting elections for SMCs chairmen and members.

He urged the university to chalk out the elections’ schedule within a week. The university, according to memorandum of understanding (MoU), had to prepare a school development plan in consultation with stakeholders and launch community mobilization campaign before the formation of SMCs.

In addition, the university would have to train the newly established SMCs in how they work in an efficient manner, he said.

He directed to ensure new SMCs bank accounts were opened and the existing ones activated so that funds could be transferred soon after the committees’ completion.

EDO (CDD) Shafatullah Uner, DO (secondary school) Apa Kulsoom Samoo, DO (education) Iqbal Memon, Iqra University regional director Mohammad Ayoob and Iqra University regional manager Habib Ahmed were present on the occasion.