Sections 21 and 22 of the Right to Education Act mandate the constitution of School Management Committees which include parents, teachers and government representatives. The functions of the School Management Committee include preparing a ‘school development plan’ and monitoring utilization of school grants. Though the intention for setting up School Management Committees is to provide for greater involvement of local community in the schooling, similar efforts to do so through Village Education Committees met with little success. It is important that we assess how the School Management Committees can be empowered to participate and improve the quality of education in government run schools across the country. This session would review the different models of strengthening government schools through decentralization of responsibilities, increasing local participation and providing more autonomy.