Indian schools’ ‘poll rules unfair’ By Rejimon K, Times of Oman

26 February 2011 10:29:36 Oman Time

MUSCAT: The procedures for the election of the board of directors of Indian schools in the Sultanate are sparking controversies among the Indian community. Candidates and parents of students from several Indian schools are claiming that the proposed election process is “undemocratic”.
“The entire election procedure is merely an eyewash. It is held to safeguard somebody’s vested interest,” P. M. Jabir, Director of Director of Pravasi Welfare Fund Board told Times of Oman.
Recently, the committee, in charge of holding the elections, had announced that the polls for the board of directors, which will be the governing body of 17 Indian schools in the Sultanate, will be held on March 25. According to the election procedures, the memorandum issued by election committee says that the term of the board will be two years. “In this board election, democratic values are being murdered. Their rules state that only parents of children who are studying in Indian School Muscat (ISM) will have voting rights. More than 40,000 students are studying in various other Indian schools in the Sultanate. And this board — elected by nearly 8,000 parents — will govern all the Indian schools in the Sultanate. This itself shows that this entire election is undemocratic and unfair,” Jabir said.
The board of directors of Indian schools will have 15 members of which only five members will be elected through a voting system. It is for the first time that election is being held for five seats. The other 10 will be directly nominated.
“As the elected five members will be a minority in the 10-member board, I think we will not have a right to say no or yes for any motion. This election is totally unfair. I have filed my application to contest in the elections but still I don’t know how free and fair the elections will be,” a candidate told Times of Oman.
According to the election commission’s rules, candidates are barred from adopting any kind of communication with parents, either direct or indirect for canvassing votes. “Without interaction with voters how can they decide that I am an eligible candidate and I am apt to represent them,” the candidate added. Sources say that the Indian embassy will be convening a meeting to discuss the controversy and settle the issues.
“India is the biggest democratic country and it is embarrassing to see that a school, which is under the sponsorship of the Embassy of India, is holding such an unfair election,” Jabir said. “Even a candidate can’t indulge in healthy criticism against the existing board. He can’t even have a debate on any issue related to the election procedures. If the candidate does so, he will be disqualified ,” Jabir added. Parents of students of other Indian schools are also furious about the election procedures.
“Only because our children are not students of ISM, we do not have voting rights. We will not be having a say in the school’s policies where our children are studying. Even if there are five candidates a parent will be able to cast only one vote for one candidate. This is totally unfair. The Indian embassy should take care of this issue,” a few parents told Times of Oman.
The election process memorandum states that a parent shall be entitled to cast only one vote in favour of only one candidate, irrespective of the number of children enrolled in the school or number of candidates standing for the election.
“This kind of elections is held to safeguard their vested interests. A lot of money is being handled under several projects. Never have I seen Indian schools issuing a tender notice for its projects as other community schools do. I suspect that there are irregularities and favouritism is rampant in these deals. So, if the board loses it’s ‘veto right’ then they will not be able to safeguard their interests,” a candidate complained.
Calls to two of the election committee members were unanswered.