Noida: Taking another leap in its efforts towards excellence in the field of education, Shiv Nadar School, a not-for-profit initiative of the Shiv Nadar Foundation in K12 education, announced the launch of the first ever Electoral Literacy Club in the country. The club will cater to students (future voters) in the age group of 15 to 17 years, and will educate them with the nuances of the electoral system in order to help them become responsible citizens. Hon’ble Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Dr. Nasim Zaidi who is also a founding member of this landmark initiative was present at the occasion to inaugurate the club. He also unveiled the “sculpture of democracy” which was created by the school as the symbol of the club.

The club is a result of CEC’s unique programme called ‘Interactive School Engagement’ under which the poll panel officials visited more than 4000 urban and rural schools, to create awareness on the institution of Democracy. The structure of the club includes junior and senior level students comprising 10 to 12 members. It will aim to educate and increase awareness amongst youngsters on constitutional responsibilities, governmental structures and electoral policies of the country.

On the occasion of inaugurating the Electoral Literacy Club at the School, Dr Nazim Zaidi expressed, “Shiv Nadar School is the first ever school with an Electoral Literacy Club. With this initiative, we want to create a complete framework and generate interest among young children of both junior and senior school who are the future voters of our country. It’s extremely important for the students to be informed about the facets of participation and make them understand how each vote counts.”

Col. (Retd) Gopal Karunakaran, CEO, Shiv Nadar School said, “In this day and age of data overload, it is extremely important to provide the right kind of information to educate the future of our country in the most responsible manner. Factual knowledge about politics and the electoral system is a critical component of citizenship and this should be of precedence at a school level. We, at Shiv Nadar School, feel delighted to be the first school to launch the Electoral Literacy Club in the country.”

Along with the launch of the club, the school also hosted its Investiture Ceremony. Leena Aparajit, Executive Director, Shiv Nadar was the chief host of the ceremony who conferred the badge of office upon the Council and Shashi Banerjee, Principal, Shiv Nadar School Noida led the Council to administer the oath. Hon’ble Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Dr. Nasim Zaidi also unveiled the Constitution of the Student Council which stated the democratic code of ethics which will be followed by the students of the Shiv Nadar School.