Q1.
The school example helps us to understand the concept of representation and how it works. However, the students' committee is different from Parliamentary and Legislative committees, as class representatives in a school are quite different from Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs). What are these differences? Discuss with your teacher in the classroom and make a list.
Answer
The idea is the same — a few people chosen by many to speak for them. Almost everything else is different. Here is the list, ready for your classroom discussion.
| Class representative in a school | MP / MLA | |
|---|---|---|
| Who elects | The students of one class or grade | Every adult voter of a whole constituency, under universal adult franchise |
| Who may stand | Any student of that class | A citizen who meets the qualifications of age, citizenship and other conditions laid down by law |
| Source of authority | The Head Teacher's decision to create the committee | The Constitution of India |
| What they decide | School matters — assembly speakers, sports, cleanliness, No Bag Day activities | Laws and the budget, binding on everyone in the state or the country |
| Powers | Suggest and help implement school rules; the Head Teacher remains in charge | Make and amend laws, approve taxes and spending, question ministers, debate policy |
| Consequence of the decision | Affects one school for a term | Affects lakhs or crores of people, sometimes for generations |
| Term and removal | Usually a term or a year; the school decides | Five years for Lok Sabha and most Assemblies, fixed by law; removal only under set procedures |
| Accountability | To classmates and to the teachers | To the voters at the next election, to the House, and to the courts |
| Salary and staff | None — it is voluntary service | A salary, allowances, an office and a constituency fund |
The one deeper difference: a student committee advises and assists inside a school that the Head Teacher runs. A legislature is itself one of the three organs of the state — it makes the law, and even the government must obey what it passes. That is why a Parliamentary committee can summon officials and examine government spending, while a school committee cannot.
Tip: the resemblance is still useful. Both answer the same question — how can many people be heard without everyone speaking at once? The answer in both cases is representation.