id: night-school-assembly
title: Night School Assembly
description: >-
  A practice from Barefoot College (Tilonia, Rajasthan, India) where night
  schools for rural children are governed by a children's parliament that
  oversees the schools. Originating in the work of Bunker Roy, the night
  schools serve children who work during the day.
source: Barefoot College / Social Work and Research Centre (SWRC), Tilonia
source_url: https://www.barefootcollege.org/
tags: [india, barefoot-college, education, children, governance]
forked_from: null
image: null
steps:
  - headline: Elect the children's parliament
    description: >-
      Children from the night schools elect a parliament, including a
      prime minister and ministers, through a formal process. The
      parliament governs the night schools.
  - headline: Parliament meets regularly
    description: >-
      The children's parliament meets, hearing reports from each night
      school — attendance, teacher performance, facilities, problems.
  - headline: Address issues raised
    description: >-
      The parliament addresses issues — a teacher missing, a solar lamp
      broken — and assigns ministers to follow up, with real authority to
      act.
  - headline: Report to the community
    description: >-
      The parliament reports to the broader community and to Barefoot
      College staff, who support but do not override the children's
      decisions.
outcome: >-
  Rural night schools are governed by the children who attend them,
  building agency and accountability from the youngest participants.
practice: >-
  The children's authority is real. If adults override the parliament, the
  form collapses. Support, do not decide for them.