Association of students: All countries of the world have representative bodies of students under different names and with different functions. In the good old days, when we were students at Meerut College Meerut, we had a mock parliament of students in the institution. The intention was to familiarize the students with the smooth functioning and decorum of the august bodies. That was British Period and there was no parliament in the country at that time. India had a central assembly with limited functions and therefore, the debates were orderly and were dominated by intellectuals. At Meerut College, the senior students of the college were deeply involved in the organization and conduct of all co-curricular activities of the institution in close association with the faculty. Later on, when at Thomason College of Civil Engineering Roorkee, all student activities were organized and conducted by the students. There were no unions and student representatives as such. However, whatever be the place and whatever be the activity, the senior most student present, assumed control.
When we moved to the new campus of Civil Engineering School, Lucknow on Kanpur Road, the student activities got a tremendous boost. Play grounds had come up and there was ample space for the conduct of literary and cultural activities in the newly constructed building of the institution. Students were deeply involved in the conduct and organization of the activities and the time was ripe for the formation of a representative body of students.
Election of section representatives: There were two sections of sixty students each in first year and two sections of sixty each in second year. Every section was expected to elect six representatives by a single non-transferable vote by students of the section. Nominations for election as representatives of the section were invited. All students of the section were eligible for nomination. Date for election of section representatives was notified and on the date and time of elections the students were seated section wise in separate rooms. One ballot paper of the section, which contained the names of all nominated candidates of that section. was provided to every student of that section. Thereafter, the students were called one by one to the dias by the presiding teacher and the students were directed to mark three preferences by putting (1), (2) or (3) against the names of the chosen candidates, before dropping the ballot paper in the ballot box. The process of collecting the ballot papers and counting began immediately after the close of voting in the presence of all students of the section. The ballot papers with first preference votes were sorted out and after counting them, the names of the students were placed on the blackboard in order of the first preference votes polled by each candidate. If the number of students who got first preference votes was six or more, the first six candidates were declared elected as representatives. If the number of such candidates was less than six, all candidates who got first preference votes were declared elected as representatives. Thereafter, for filling up the remaining vacancies. the second preference votes of the candidates were counted and those getting the highest aggregate of first and second preference votes were declared elected. If some vacancy still persisted or in case of a tie, the third preference votes of the candidates were counted and added to the aggregate and results declared.
The system had simplicity. No publicity, posters or rallies were needed. Every student knew that if he could muster six to eight votes, he had a reasonable chance for election and therefore, small groups of friends and associates joined to push up their candidate. No outsiders or political parties were involved.
Governing body of the students association: All section representatives elected by different sections constituted the governing body of the students association. Since, there were four sections, two in first year and two in second year, and the representatives elected by each section was six, the total number of the members of the governing body of the students association was twenty four. After the formation of the governing body, the students association proceeded with the election of its President and General Secretary through single non transferable vote. All representatives were eligible to stand for election to any one of the offices. Thereafter, on the notified date and time for election, they were seated in a room for voting. The ballot papers had two sections, one for the election of the president with names of candidates standing for election as president and the other one for the election of the general secretary with names of candidates standing for election to the office of the general secretary. The presiding teacher called the representatives to the dias, one by one and they were directed to mark three preferences (1), (2), (3) on the ballot paper for the office of the president and three preferences (1). (2), (3) on the ballot paper for the office of the general secretary before putting the ballot paper in the ballot box. After the completion of the voting, the sorting out of the ballot papers and counting of the votes began in the presence of all representatives. The first preference votes for the office of general secretary were counted first and placed on the black board. The candidate polling the higher number of first preference votes was declared elected as general secretary. In case of a tie, second preference votes of the candidates, who formed the tie were counted and the candidate polling higher second preference votes was declared elected. Finally, the ballot papers for the office of the president were sorted out and the first preference votes polled by the candidates for the office of the president were counted and placed on the black board. The candidate polling the higher number of first preference votes was declared elected as president. In case of a tie, the second preference votes were counted and the candidate polling higher second preference votes was declared elected as president . The system had simplicity and was wide open.
Students Association starts ticking: Participation of students in organization and conduct of different student activities of the institution is also a significant part of the professional training of students of technical institutions. For every outdoor games and sports activity like, hockey, football, volleyball, badminton, tennikoit and athletics, the institution had a secretary and a captain. Captain was normally the best performing member of the team and the secretary was one of the members of the governing body of students association, nominated by the governing body, on the basis of his interests and talents. Similarly, for all literary and cultural activities, the institution had a secretary and joint secretary, who were nominated by the governing body of the students association on the basis of their interests and organizational capacities. Teachers were closely associated with each one of the activities for providing needed guidance and push. The system ensured that most of the members of the governing body of the students association were deeply involved in the organization and conduct of all co-curricular activities of the students. Since, most of the teachers were associated with the student activities as advisors, they started enjoying their association with the activities of the students. Youth is a bundle of energy. All that is needed is a little spark, that, can keep them going.