Bengaluru: The ‘Marks for Vote’ campaign by private schools in the state saw hundreds of parent voters turning up at schools on Saturday, soon after casting their votes.
More than 3,000 private unaided schools, which are members of the the Karnataka Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools (KAMS), were asked to take an independent decision on running the special campaign aiming to increase voter turnouts this year.
One such school in the city, Blossoms School in Bagalakunte, saw parents queuing up to register their names against their kids' details after polling. As many as 580 students have been eligible to get the ‘encouraging marks’ as the day ended. “We are happy that we contributed our bit for the democracy,” said D. Shashikumar, principal of the school.
The campaign's effect can be assessed completely only after a couple of working days, said Natesh Kumar, vice-principal of Gurukul International School, Kengeri. “More than 200 parent voters came to the school after polling on Saturday. As many have travelled to their hometowns to vote, we have decided to extend the deadline to register themselves for marks till Tuesday,” he said.
Many private schools in the city had set up a special desk on Saturday to help parents sign up for the initiative by showing the indelible ink on their fingers.
