Patna: Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has called upon educational institutions to play a greater role in strengthening electoral literacy, building trust in the electoral process and encouraging informed participation among young citizens.
Addressing a conference on ‘Electoral Literacy Clubs and ECINet’ in Patna on Monday, Kumar launched Electoral Literacy Clubs (ELC 2.0), a revamped initiative aimed at promoting year-round electoral awareness in schools, colleges and universities.
‘Learn Democracy. Lead Democracy.’
Kumar said students and young voters should be familiarised with India’s electoral system, democratic values, voter registration, polling and counting processes, as well as the functioning of the Election Commission of India.
The new ELC logo and tagline — “Learn Democracy. Lead Democracy.” — were also unveiled at the event.
ELC 2.0 will use the ECINet digital platform and a dedicated ELC portal to create a pan-India network of digitally enabled clubs.
The initiative will leverage India’s vast education network, comprising around 15 lakh schools, 25 crore students and over one crore teachers, besides nearly 1,500 universities and 70,000 higher education institutions.
Kumar said informed participation by young citizens would be an important investment in the future of Indian democracy.
Earlier, the CEC met Booth Level Officers in Nalanda and visited Madhubani, Vaishali and Nalanda during his two-day Bihar visit.
