DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

To increase parental participation in the management of government schools for enhancing the quality of education, the Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday gave its nod to amend the Punjab Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules of 2011.

A spokesperson for the Chief Minister's office said the amendment aims at enhancing parental as well as community participation in the school management committees to enable holistic development of academics in the government schools.

This amendment proposes to enhance the number of members in the school management committee from existing 12 to 16, which includes 12 members from parents of students and four other members from allied fields such as education, sports and extra-curricular activities.

This will provide specific expertise and increase parental participation and community involvement in subject-specific activities.

In another significant decision, the Punjab Cabinet gave its consent to amend the Transfer of Prisoner Act of 1950 to transfer the undertrial prisoners from one state to another. This process will be carried out with the consent of both the states, where the undertrial prisoners are currently lodged and the state to which they are to be transferred only after the approval of the trial court.

This step will be helpful in easing the situation of overcrowding in the jails of Punjab.

The Cabinet also gave the nod for creating new rules for Group A of the Social Security, Women and Child Development Department in the larger public interest. This will help in streamlining the functioning of the department thereby immensely benefitting the weaker and underprivileged sections.

The Cabinet also gave its approval to the terms and conditions for the appointment of the Chairman and members of the Punjab Tirath Yatra Samiti and the advisor to the Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board.

(editor@dailyworld.in)