The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 confers Constitutional status on the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). The Constitution provides for devolution of powers and responsibilities upon Panchayats at appropriate level. Keeping with the vision of the Constitution (Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act, 1992, SSA has made adequate provision for community involvement in facilitating the implementation of various aspects of the programme. Experiences of earlier programmes like BEP, DPEP have also reinforced the role of community in education. It has been envisaged under SSA that the Panchayats, VSS and other community forums both in rural & urban areas, would complement each other by creating a strong base at the grassroots level for community participation in the education scenario.

The huge task of UEE cannot be achieved without active involvement of community. That is why, in SSA great emphasis is laid on Community Mobilization. Bihar Education Project has consistently and consciously included community participation and environment building in its strategy. Education is, undoubtedly, an integral part of the process of social transformation. Emergence of the " Bihar State VSS Act 2000 " regarding constitution of VSS with every school and other statutory character has been perceived as an outcome of the ongoing empowerment exercise for community.

The community is expected to play a key role in micro-planning, especially in the development of Village/Habitation level plan and School Improvement Plans. Community based monitoring in specific issues like enrolment, retention, education of girl child and other disadvantaged groups, utilization of various grants and construction is important to ensure attainment of the programme objectives. Communities can be involved in programme implementation through following key activities: