Community School Management Related Educational Policy Provisions in Nepal: Perception from Implementers

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to explore the self-reflection and perception of the members of School Management Committee (SMC) of public schools on the policy provisions related to community school management in Nepal. The study explored the reflections of the education stakeholders who are at the level of community school management policy enactment. Therefore, the study reflects the perception of SMC Chairs, SMC members and Secretary of SMC. The study followed the phenomenological research design with an interpretive research paradigm. The high performing schools were sampled following the purposive sampling method based on the Secondary Education Examination (SEE) results of last three years. The study found that the SMCs of community schools are satisfied with the policy provision in terms of decentralization, planning, resource mobilization, community mobilization and improving transparency. They realized that there are enough provisions to strengthen and functionalize the community schools. However, the study identified that there are some reservations in the implementation. It was found that there was lack of consultation with the relevant stakeholders while developing the policy provision. On the other hand, it was identified that the government authorities do not consult with the SMCs while implementing the policies at the school level substituting the roles of SMCs of those clauses enlisted as the roles of SMC. Similarly, the study revealed, although the community schools are provided the significant responsibilities, but the schools are not able to implement all the provisions due to the inadequate budget allocated for school education.