Management of School Education : Role of Panchayati Raj Institutions

This paper considers how Panchayati Raj Institutions manage elementary education in coordination with the Education Department in Madhya Pradesh. It is based on a field study on Recent Trends in Educational Administration in Madhya Pradesh. Its objective was to critically examine the linkages and coordination between the development administration and the Panchayati Raj Department. The methodology of the study was based on survey research, obtaining primary and secondary data through interviews and document analysis. Open-ended questions and interviews were transcribed and inferences were drawn. Conducted on a sample selected from two districts of Madhya Pradesh, namely, Datiya and Ratlam, the study found that Madhya Pradesh has transferred the management of school education to Panchayati Raj Institutions and has evolved a well-knitted structure of development administration for elementary education in the form of Shiksha Kendras. It has been found that while Panchayati Raj Institutions are generally entrusted with the responsibility of recruitment, transfer and decision-making, they face inadequacy of capacity-building programmes for them; while participation of the local community in school management is increased to a great extent, lakhs of children are still out-ofschool; and that there is hardly interface between Panchayati Raj Institutions and the Parent Teacher Associations at school level. Coordination between Panchayati Raj Institutions and various bodies of educational administration at district, block and habitation levels has also been a major concern.