COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION APPROACH FOR MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC SECTOR EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN PAKISTAN

The present study was conducted to appraise the existing practices of community participation in management of public sector educational institutions and to develop a model for the management through community participation. The study was descriptive in nature. The main objectives of the study were 1) to appraise the existing practices of community participation in the management of public sector educational institutions, 2) to judge the awareness and general reaction of head teachers, teachers, parents, students and community members toward managing the schools through community participation. Questionnaires and interview were used as instruments of the study. Population of the study consisted of teachers, head-teachers, administrators, social workers, parents and students. A total of 1000 respondents took part in the study.

It was found that community participation programs were helpful for managing different tasks in the schools. However, certain problems indicated to be hindering the community participation programs in schools such as illiteracy, poverty, lack of resources, communication gap and political involvement in the school affairs. Community participation could be the instrument of manipulation of any developmental project in educational management. As schools are central, organic and integral part of the community, parents and teachers are natural partners in process of schooling; so it is of prime importance that parents, teachers and community members should play their appropriate role in the wholesome education of their children. The main dilemma is that being the main stakeholder most of the parents and community members were unaware of the difficulties faced by the educational institutions where their children spend a good part of their day.The present study also proposed community participation management model that recognizes school as social system relating itself to supra environment for better inter relation and interaction. The study recommended that proposed community participation management model may be applied for better community participation in schools.