Bal sansad election: disseminating democratic values in school
Shishu Ranjan
The National Curriculum Framework 2005 (NCF, 2005) extensively discusses inculcating democratic values among children as one of the main aims of education. According to NCF 2005, “Each Indian child can be enabled to not only participate in a democracy, but to also learn how to interact and form partnerships with others to preserve and enhance democracy.” (Ncf 2005-English.Pdf, 2005, p. 83)
On the same page it says, “Children cannot wake up one fine morning when they are 18 and know how to participate in, preserve and enhance a democracy, especially if they have had no prior personal or even second-hand experience of it, nor any role models to learn from.” (Ncf 2005-English.Pdf, 2005, p. 83)
These above statements, coupled with the fact that civics textbooks provide limited knowledge of democracy, point to a gap between students’ understanding of the topic and what they observe in real life. This is what led to the idea of a bal sansad election or student parliament election in the school I was temporarily working at.
![](https://teacherplus.org/readers-blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1-4-2.jpg)
Photos courtesy: Shishu Ranjan
Ideation
As a student of the MA Education program at Azim Premji University, I had to undertake field practice for a period of three months. I chose to do this in an upper primary government school in Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand.
As a teacher, one of my jobs in this school was to organize a co-curricular activity that would inculcate constitutional values in the students. I decided to conduct a bal sansad election in the school in a full-fledged manner, just like a general election. But I had been part of this school for a mere 20 days. Would I be able to convince the teachers to help conduct such an activity?
We thought it would be a good idea to conduct this exercise on a Saturday. One of the science teachers came on board first. The other teachers were not responsive in the beginning, but then I started discussing my idea with them during lunch breaks and slowly mobilized all the teachers in the school. The next day, I proposed the following idea.
- Days 1-2:Announcement of the election and complete procedure of code of conduct and the formation of the election commission.
- Day 3:Nomination of interested candidates.
- Day 4:Withdrawal of nominations, in case any of the candidates wished to.
- Days 5-6:Campaigning and awareness.
- Day 7: Debate among candidates.
- Day 8: Voting/polling.
- Day 9: Discussion of the election process thus far.
- Day 10: Counting and result declaration.
- Day 11: Nomination of one MP by teachers/election commission, election of prime minister, oath-taking ceremony, general body meeting and distributing responsibilities.
Operation
Announcement of the bal sansad election: As soon as we were ready with an action plan, the idea of a general election was announced in the assembly and all the details along with the dates were posted on the notice board. This announcement started a discussion about elections among the students.
The idea was to elect two members of parliament (MP) from each class, one girl and one boy. So, each voter (student) was supposed to vote for a girl MP and a boy MP from their class, just like a parliamentary/assembly election where a voter must vote for their MP/MLA. One MP was to be nominated by the teachers to make it an odd number because the school had three grades, and from each grade two MPs would make six. Hence, one MP was to be nominated. Then, these MPs would elect their leader, who would be the prime minister of the school.
Discussion among teachers: During lunch hours with the teachers, I directed the discussion toward the link between the chapters in the NCERT social science textbooks of grades 6, 7, and 8 (government, local government and administration, state government) and the proposed bal sansad election.
Awareness and campaigning: Once the teachers were convinced, I got around to explaining to the students about the formation of the election commission, the nomination procedure, and nomination form (refer annexure), which the candidates could take from the head teacher who was the election commissioner. The same day, five students (two boys and three girls) from grade 6, seven students (four girls and three boys) from grade 7, and four students (two girls and two boys) from grade 8 filed their nomination for MPs of their class.
We organized awareness programs, held campaigns and talked about voting procedures with the voters (students), had the candidates identify problems in the school and its functioning, and come up with possible solutions. Teachers helped candidates prepare their speeches. The promises that the candidates made in their speeches were quite inspiring – ‘will keep the school campus clean’, ‘will keep the classrooms clean’, ‘will maintain the greenery of the school compound’, ‘will increase the number of students present in the class on Friday on Jumma’, ‘will help students who face difficulty in their studies’, etc. I gave the candidates their election symbols based on the objects found in the school, such as book, pen, glass, notebook, etc.
Pre-poll preparation: The day of the election arrived. We made a ballot box, a small wooden stick patched with a rubber stamp, and cleared a corner in a classroom for voters to vote in privacy.
Polling: Teachers were made presiding officers. One teacher inked fingers, one listed the names and got the signatures of the students (voters), another noted down the minutes of the process and the Head Teacher provided the ballot paper. I maintained discipline and managed the queue. I was also journalling the voting procedure. During my entire time at this school, the voting day witnessed the highest presence of students, higher than on regular days. The polling process lasted for two hours. I would say that these two hours were the best moments of teaching and learning, as every student and teacher was fully involved.
After the voting was completed, the ballot box was sealed and kept in the office.
Counting: Students were called and assembled before lunch and the ballot box was opened in the presence of the candidates. The candidates signed a paper stating that the ballot box was opened in front of them and they agreed that the counting could now start. One teacher each took charge of the three different grades. The Head Teacher started noting down the votes received by each candidate. The results surprised the teachers as the candidates they thought would win received very few votes.
As the counting started, I conducted an exit poll asking students and candidates about their predictions.
![](https://teacherplus.org/readers-blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/2-3-1.jpg)
Polling and Poll Counting
The results were announced following proper procedures that teachers had been following for panchayat or general elections during their election duties.
When the results were announced, we could see the thrill of winning and losing among the students. The result was beyond teachers’ expectations as students who were popular, good at studying, and loyal lost the election. Also, teachers had predicted in terms of religious equations in the class, which failed.
Discussion among teachers: The results led the teachers to critically think about the social dynamics inside the school and classroom. Students of grade 8 voted for a boy MP from the Hindu community and a girl MP from the Muslim community even though the majority students were Muslims.
This led the teachers to challenge their beliefs that the students will support candidates from their own community. The students who won the election were soft-spoken and supportive in nature, whereas the candidates who lost were a bit arrogant but active.
The result declaration was followed by a group photograph, a first for the school.
I made a short video of the entire process. The social science teacher was motivated to write an article on the student election and present it at the district-level teachers’ conference. The teachers were also asked to share their learnings and reflections to publish in the magazine at the block level and even in Azim Premji Foundation magazines.
At the end of the exercise, the students were able to explain the whole process of panchayat, legislative assembly, and parliamentary elections.
![](https://teacherplus.org/readers-blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/3-1-2.jpg)
Reflection and feasibility
I was delighted when the other teachers got more involved in the activity. This broke my beliefs about teachers’ roles, activities, and openness to learning. Teachers need a regular support system as mentioned in the NCFTE 2009 guidelines, which suggest, “on a weekly and monthly basis to plan for one’s teaching as well as to discuss with colleagues, the school academic head and resource persons at the cluster or block level, is an essential aspect of the teaching profession.” (NCFTE_2009.Pdf).
I must mention that I could observe a significant change in teachers’ attitudes after the election. Earlier, they used to give orders to students, which changed after the elections. Students also started feeling valued because they were now more involved in decisions regarding the school and their learning experiences at the institution.
The whole process didn’t involve too much preparation, additional resources, or extra time. It only took a few hours to prepare some of the materials such as ballot papers with election symbols, a few printouts, etc. It cost us Rs. 100 or even less to undertake this exercise. Also, since we conducted the exercise on a ‘No-Bag’ Saturday, we didn’t lose teaching hours either.
References
- Anandam Curriculum for class 6th to 8th: Final_6_to_8.pdf. (n.d.). Retrieved January 11, 2024, from https://siemat.uk.gov.in/files/Final_6_to_8.pdf
- “Children’s Perception of Sarkar: A Critique of Civics Textbooks” by Alex M. George. https://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/chidrens-perception.pdf.
- NCERT. (n.d.-a). Retrieved January 11, 2024, from https://ncert.nic.in/textbook.php?fess3=ps-8
- NCERT. (n.d.-b). Retrieved January 11, 2024, from https://ncert.nic.in/textbook.php?gess3=ps-8
- NCERT. (n.d.-c). Retrieved January 11, 2024, from https://ncert.nic.in/textbook.php?hess3=ps-8
- NCFTE_2009.pdf. (n.d.). Retrieved December 10, 2023, from https://ncte.gov.in/website/PDF/NCFTE_2009.pdf
- Ncf 2005-english.pdf. (n.d.). Retrieved January 11, 2024, from https://ncert.nic.in/pdf/nc-framework/nf2005-english.pdf
- Bachchon ki Bhagidari pdf. (n.d.). Retrieved January 11, 2024, from https://anuvadasampada.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in
The author is an MA in Education. He holds an MSc in Chemistry from Ranchi University, and a BEd from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. He is interested in research in social justice and education. He can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/shishu-ranjan-0540b9b3/ or shishu.ranjan22_mae@apu.edu.in.