Education ministry, ECI sign pact to spread voter awareness in schools

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India and the Education Ministry has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to bring in electoral literacy to classrooms across the country. As per the MoU, the flagship programme Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) has been extended, ensuring enlightened participation of future voters.

The aim of the MoU is to spread awareness about ethical and informed voting to students from Class 9 and above.

"They have turned 18 and have become a voter, but they are not very much aware of voting, ethos, magnitude. How to vote, whom to vote and what all considerations are to kept in mind -- that background is not ready,” Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said.

The ECI's flagship campaign SVEEP for voter education, raising voter consciousness, and advancing voter literacy in India was launched in 2009.

The goal of the curriculum is to provide Indian voters with a foundational understanding of the election process. The SVEEP campaign will encourage all eligible persons to vote and make educated decisions during the elections in order to establish a fully participatory democracy in India.

The strategy is built on a number of general and focused interventions that are tailored to the state's socioeconomic, cultural, and demographic characteristics as well as its electoral participation history in prior election cycles.

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Meanwhile, the ECI has appointed actor Rajkumar Rao as the national icon to spread awareness about voting rights. The commission stressed the importance on democratic and electoral education of young students.

The ECI is constitution mandated with the 'superintendence, direction and control' of the conduct of elections to the Parliament and every State Legislature and the preparation and revision of electoral rolls.