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Extra marks for children if parents vote!
PUJA AWASTHI | Lucknow, January 21, 2012 16:16
Tags : vote | election | Vidhan Sabha | polls | schools | extra marks | exam | final | assembly elections 2012 |
Tags : vote | election | Vidhan Sabha | polls | schools | extra marks | exam | final | assembly elections 2012 |
If an Amir Khan phone call exhorting you to vote can’t draw you out, this might just do the trick. A college in Lucknow is offering extra marks to children whose parents cast their votes this election!
JP Mishra, principal of the capital’s Aminabad Inter College hit upon the idea and roped in another local college to take it forward. “This is my small effort to tackle voter antipathy”, says Mishra.
The quid pro quo is not limited to the exams but will also cover character certificates awarded at the time of passing out from school. Mishra suggests a column for marking whether or not the child successfully convinced his/her parents to vote and hence displayed a sense of civic consciousness. In case of a student who is 18, the relevant entry will be a mark on his own performance on Election Day.
A notice to this effect has been put up on the school announcement board and also been circulated in student diaries. Parents and guardians have been asked to vote and have this verified at the school the day after.
And though the marks on offer are not many (just two in the final exam), Mishra believes the sense of recognition among peers will drive students to convince parents and family members to step out on polling day.
SKP Srivastava, a managing trustee on the board of a prominent Lucknow college says, “Any effort to inspire voters is commendable but a formula such as this might fall foul of poll guidelines. It needs to be ensured that this is not so.”
Vijay Dalal, management head of the local Navyug College has however decided to follow Mishra. “We will offer bonus marks to students whose parents and guardians vote. Each one of us can contribute to increasing the vote percentage.”
Lucknow goes to the polls on February 19. In the last Vidhan Sabha polls, the total voting percentage in the state fell below the half way mark.
Issue Dated: Feb 5, 2017
