Karnataka - Bangalore   

Don't scrap SDMCs, say experts

Bageshree S.

`It will be a case of throwing the baby out with the bath water'

Bangalore: The demand to scrap School Development Monitoring Committees (SDMC) following the death of teacher T. Prema in Gadag district is seen by experts as a case of throwing out the baby with bath water.

The suicide, allegedly following harassment by an SDMC member, warrants strengthening of the system rather than dismantling it, they argue. More importantly, the State Government does not have powers to dismantle the system mandated under the Panchayat Raj Act, 1993.

"Many sexual harassment cases have been reported in which the teachers were involved. Does it mean teachers as a whole should be removed from the Education Department?" asks V.P. Niranjan Aradhya and H.D. Prashanth, who are on the steering committee of the SDMC Co-ordination Forum-Karnataka.

Mr. Prashanth of the Department of Development Studies in Kannada University, Hampi, who visited Gadag while Ms. Prema was in hospital, says the case should be seen in the context of the local power politics. "There should be an inquiry and the guilty punished. But one isolated case cannot be used to demand dismantling a whole system," he says.

Mr. Aradhya of the Centre for Child and Law, National Law School of India University, points out that 17 (H) of the model by-laws of SDMC clearly state how cases of this kind are to be handled. The by-laws state that any sexual harassment complaint should be investigated by a committee of three members, two of whom should be women. The committee should submit a report within 15 days of the complaint to the Civil Amenity Committee (CAC) of the gram panchayat. CAC has the powers to punish an erring official or dissolve the SDMC if the whole body is found to be guilty.

These bylaws were underlined in a government circular sent out by Department of Public Instruction. "The incident points to the fact that the system is not in place. It is a procedural lapse that needs to be set right," he says.

Atheeq, Project Director of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, concurs that the incident underlines the need for institutionalising the provisions that exist in the bylaws. "Both the SDMC members and teachers need to know their limits and responsibilities. In places where there has been training to SDMC members, SDMCs are working well," he said.

Mr. Prashanth argues that resentment towards SDMCs stems from the fact that the system not only demands transparency, but also accountability. "This threatens the old vested interests," he adds.

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