Increasing Student Participation Through the Success of School Management Committees (SMC) of Sindh Pakistan

Abstract

The situation of primary education in Pakistan is poor. According to the ‘Out of school children’: South Asian regional study (UNICEF, 2014), in 2009, in Pakistan, there were 6.6 million school-age children1 out-of school. The School Management Committees (SMCs) were created at the district level by the government’s initiatives of decentralization of education by introducing devolution plan in 2001 (The Sindh Local Government Ordinance, 2001). At the school level, the head teacher plays the role of general secretary of the SMC and facilitates the formation of the SMC by calling a general body meeting and arranging the election of the SMC. This research will address the ways and means through which the SMC policy implementations can be improved so that student enrolments are increased. The research question will explore the barriers that face the SMCs in increasing effectiveness of policy implementation, to enhance enrolments of students at the school level, and how this implementation can be improved in Sindh, Pakistan. The transformative worldview approach is selected. In the literature review, a significant search was carried out to explore hurdles with regards to the SMC implementation and effective strategies which worked successfully in developing countries. This paper outlines the findings regarding the SMCs’ experience in Pakistan and parts of developing countries where the SMCs model worked effectively.