Student elections in question are mimicked by organization ILOA, enabling selection of student leaders via a method similar to national polling procedures.
Revamped Article:
Cracking the Code of Democracy: ILOA's Student Elections
Kickstarting the spirit of democracy, Indian Learners' Own Academy (ILOA) orchestrated its annual student elections for the 2025-26 session, mirroring the grandeur of national electoral processes. Students dived headfirst into the democratic deep end, gaining hands-on experience in participatory democracy.
From nomination filings to passionate campaigns and secure electronic voting, the process was a miniature replica of the real deal. Thrilling competition关注了12 crucial leadership roles, like the President, Head Boy and Girl, Vice Heads, and Sports Captains. The journey commenced a month prior, with nominees handpicked by the Vice Principals based on academic prowess, extracurricular involvement, personal drive, and leadership potential. The grand finale unfolded on campus, with students casting their votes digitally.
Tuesday, April 22, 2025, turned out to be a historical day at ILOA, as the Student Democratic Club elections ignited the flames of democracy among students in Classes 6 to 12.
This educational adventure aimed to cultivate civic engagement and electoral literacy among students, standing firm alongside India's national mission to instill democratic values in educational institutions.
The following brilliant students took the reins in the Student Democratic Club elections, winning with substantial majorities:
The democratic maelstrom at ILOA not only infused students with practical knowledge of the electoral process but also instilled integral democratic values. The academy's use of electronic voting systems offered insight into contemporary voting technologies, arming students with the tools necessary to tackle future democratic processes.
By simulating the complete electoral cycle, students learned procedural literacy, familiarizing themselves with concepts such as candidate eligibility and ballot casting. Additionally, by staging annual elections, ILOA inoculated students against treating democratic participation as an occasional activity, instilling a sense of habitual practice.
This education model treads a unique path, resonating with progressive Indian education models like learner-directed learning and community-based projects. Meanwhile, it breaks away from unschooling methods popularized by organizations like Shikshantar, focusing instead on institutional democratic processes within formal education.
The approach resembles Finnish student democracy with its structured meetings and European democratic schools with their shared governance, but with an exclusive emphasis on electoral specificity for nurturing political understanding. This educational roadmap intertwines theoretical democratic principles with practical application, addressing procedural knowledge and fostering a disposition of habitual participation through active learning experiences.
[1]: Learning Through Real-World Elections: A Case Study of the Indian Learners' Own Academy (ILOA)[2]: Shikshantar’s Unschooling Movement and Its Contrasting Approach Towards Democratic Participation[3]: Civic Education: Balancing Procedural Knowledge and Civic Disposition[4]: The Impact of Electronic Voting Systems on Youth Political Participation[5]: Global Best Practices in Democratic Education: An Overview and Comparative Analysis of ILOA’s Model
- The Indian Learners' Own Academy (ILOA) has incorporated education-and-self-development and personal-growth into its annual student elections, giving students an opportunity to learn about electoral processes, democracy, and leadership.
- By participating in the student elections, students at ILOA gain practical knowledge of electoral literacy, including candidate eligibility, ballot casting, and electronic voting systems, helping them prepare for future democratic processes.
- Through the simulated electoral cycle, ILOA's student elections target the cultivation of a disposition of habitual participation, encouraging students to view democratic participation as a regular practice rather than an occasional activity.
- By mirroring the grandeur of national electoral processes, the learner-directed and community-based school model at ILOA fosters a unique approach to democratic education that resembles elements of Finnish student democracy and European democratic schools while focusing on electoral specificity for promoting political understanding.
