Article Title :
Role of Local Political Bodies in Managing Schools of Bihar & Kerala

Author Name :
Dr Khagendra Kumar

Keyword :
Decentralization, Participation, Empowerment, School Management, Village Education Committee (VEC), Vidyalaya Siksha Samiti (VSS), Local-self Government, Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI), Panchayat Education Committee (PEC), People’s Planning Campaign

Publisher :
Politic India Publication

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Abstract :
It is widely believed that empowerment of local political bodies will create institutions that are more accountable to local citizens and more appropriate to local needs and preferences. The 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments were historic attempts to empower local self governments by giving them constitutional status and identifying 29 areas including elementary education over which they can legitimately have jurisdiction. In pursuant to the 73rd constitutional amendment, Indian states passed their own Panchayati Raj Acts. Bihar and Kerala are two Indian states that differ greatly on human development indices including school education. According to a recent statistics it is 0.92 for Kerala and 0.41 for Bihar. Kerala is among those few states which transferred power and responsibilities to the Panchayati Raj Institutions in many of the 29 subjects identified by the Panchayati Raj Act 1993 and Bihar is among the states which has partially transferred power and responsibilities to PRIs only in a few of the 29 subjects. It was expected that involvement of panchayats having constitutional status will help in achieving our long cherished goal of free quality elementary education to all our children without any exception. Whereas mechanism for management of schools was developed at panchayat level in Kerala but no concrete mechanism is available at Panchayat level in Bihar for implementation of the roles of Panchayats identified in the Act. Institutions of Pre-primary schools, government primary schools not attached to high schools were fully transferred to Gram Panchayats in Kerala. The institutions of Deputy Director of education, District Education Officer, Assistant Education Officer etc, and their staff , High schools of the respective areas and Primary Schools attached to them were transferred to District Panchayat in Kerala. It appears that in Kerala the subject of school education has been fully transferred under the jurisdiction of local self government. In case of Bihar no mechanism could have been developed for implementation of panchayat roles in the area of primary and elementary education. In absence of well laid mechanism for panchayats having constitutional status and broader role in school management, enrollment of students, mass awareness etc., they are unable to play any effective role. In fact local bureaucracy has greater control over school management through VSS. The noble notion behind decentralization did not appear to be working in Bihar. The author has tried to analyze efforts of ensuring effective community involvement in school management in Kerala and Bihar since 1990s and finally argue for holistic transfer of elementary education to PRIs as one of the 29 subjects to be transferred to PRIs after 73 constitutional amendments which gave them a constitutional status.