Last week when I was visiting St Joseph’s school in India, happened to coincide with election week for the new head boy and head girl, and their deputies, and it was fascinating to see the process unfold as the week progressed. I wasn't able to post this before I left India as the winners hadn't been announced, but today I heard the news of who won, so here's the blog with a satisfactory ending!
The election week started with at least 16 students reading out their manifestos in assembly on the Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. It was a roughly equal split girls to boys and it was fun to hear what they were promising. Number of games lessons featured in all, although the number of games lessons varied – maybe depending on how sporty the individual was! Martial arts club got a frequent mention – this is an extra-curricular club that is offered here, and most of the candidates made mention of keeping it, so it’s clearly a popular event.
Other items that featured included number of textbooks available, being around to help students when they needed help, helping a child get home when they miss the bus, stepping in when the teacher isn’t present, and a host of other promises – some of which felt a bit more realistic than others. There were some very rousing speeches, with one standout girl candidate ending by saying ‘a vote for me is a vote for change’!
The enthusiasm from all the candidates was very evident, but sadly not all were able to go forwards for the final nomination. The manifesto speeches were all video’d and on the Wednesday afternoon, the list of candidates was reduced to a shortlist of 12. Each student was given a symbol as their campaign symbol (hat, globe, grapes, tree, carrot, bag, bus etc), and the candidates then spent their evening preparing their campaign materials so that they could maximise on their campaigning opportunities on the Thursday.
Thursday was campaign day when the candidates spent the afternoon going round the different classes reminding the students why to vote for them. Each candidate had a little campaign team who went with them, and it was fun to see and hear them going round urging the little ones to ‘vote carrot’ or ‘vote tree for change’ etc. And it wasn’t just about campaigning to the students. The teachers and ancillary staff also get a vote, so the savvy candidates were accosting everyone wherever they went, reminding why a vote for them was a vote well spent!
Friday was election day, and despite the threat of rain all morning, every child got to cast their vote. During the assembly they were given a demonstration on how to vote, including number of votes, folding the paper, posting it in the ballot box. It was so well organised, and the children certainly learnt about the full election process during the day.
There were 6 polling booths, and each booth had election officers and a security member to ensure good process. All the students were given their own voting ID slip which told them the polling booth to go to. On arrival at the booth their name was ticked off the register, they were given their voting card, and then their index finger was marked with indelible ink to ensure no double voting. Standing in line with some of the students as we waited to cast our votes, there was a real sense of excitement at being involved in the process, and the older students were very professional in their roles as the various election officers. It really was very impressive.
The announcement of the winning candidates was delayed by an emergency two day holiday called due to an impending cyclone across the state. Thankfully, everyone survived, and when the students were back at school, the head boy, head girl and their deputies were announced to the delight of all.
Congratulations to the winners of the vote who I'll refer to by their campaign signs:
Senior Pupil Leaders (SPLs) = miss Guitar, and master Backpack
Deputy SPLs = miss Star and master Schoolbus
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