PUNJAB’S School Education Department (SED) has recently set up ‘student councils’ in public sector elementary, high and higher secondary schools. The first elections for class representatives, president, vice president, general secretary and finance secretary took place on May 16, when 61,212 school representatives and other office bearers were elected in 15,303 elementary, high and higher secondary schools. Some 3.47 million children voted.
Student councils are not a new concept. Internationally, many school systems, private and public, have them. They are present in some private schools in Pakistan too. But this is a relative first for the public sector in Pakistan and the scale at which it was done was quite impressive.
Literature on student councils shows the latter can have a significant impact on students individually, on student-student, student-teacher and student-community interactions as well as on the school itself. Students gain in self-esteem and confidence, they get used to democratic values and traditions, they understand the value of arguments and learn decision-making and leadership among other skills.
Communication within and across stakeholders can improve as well. The teachers and management do not remain too distant from students, and even student interactions — as a student body — with the community can improve significantly. School can benefit from more involved and engaged student bodies. More co-curricular and sports activities take place, school discipline can improve, student grievances get addressed faster and better and the school can be more........