iPolicy for School Students
A three-day policy seminar for senior school students
Centre for Civil Society organised iPolicy for Young Leaders between 3 to 5 November 2025 at Darjeeling Public School. The seminar comprised 11 sessions led by 5 faculty and leading thinkers. A cohort of 38 students from diverse streams attended.
Participants
Cohort of 38 senior school students (ages 16–18) from humanities, commerce, and science streams interested in political science, economics, law, management, engineering and public policy.
Topics covered
- Introduction to Public Policy
- Two Kinds of Order in Society
- Rule of Law
- Education Policy (VCIAA, RTE, NEP 2020, RTE 2.0)
- Public Choice Theory & Principal–Agent Problems
- Economic freedom, Trust-based governance, New Public Management
iPolicy Schedule — 3–5 Nov 2025
Day 1 — Monday, 3 November 2025
Welcome & Introductions
By Jini Susan Thomas & Abhinav Bhatia — Introduction to CCS and iPolicy (objectives, values, rules, roles).
Session 1: Two Kinds of Order in Society
By Kumar Anand — planned vs spontaneous orders using everyday examples.
Session 2: Candymonium Activity
Interactive group activity.
Session 3: Rule of Law
By Vagmi Sharma — evaluating laws and their role in ease of living and doing business.
Session 4: Education Policy — Understanding, Identifying and Investigating the Problems
By Nitesh Anand — VCIAA principles, RTE provisions and lived school experiences.
Day 2 — Tuesday, 4 November 2025
Recap
Session 5: Public Choice Theory
By Kumar Anand — applying economics to political decision-making.
Session 6: Principal–Agent Problems
By Kumar Anand — causes and remedies in citizen-state relationships.
Session 7: Economic Freedom & Small Entrepreneurs
By Vagmi Sharma — barriers for street vendors, reforms for dignity & independence.
Session 8: Education Policy — Reform Design
By Nitesh Anand — mapping CCS reform ideas to NEP 2020 and design-thinking exercises.
Day 3 — Wednesday, 5 November 2025
Recap
Session 9: Trust-Based Governance
By Nitesh Anand — legal design principles, freedom vs control.
Session 10: New Public Management
Management principles applied to public administration for accountability & efficiency.
Session 11: Education Policy — RTE 2.0
By Nitesh Anand — draft simplified legal-style clauses and co-create a student-driven RTE 2.0 Charter.
Feedback & Graduation
Seminar highlights
High energy, smart participation and memorable conversations on the 3Rs (Rights, Representation, Resources), Rule of Law, spontaneous vs planned order, public choice theory, principal–agent problems, incentives, demand & supply, sunsetting laws and voluntary action. Education sessions helped students connect theory with school experiences — topics included ghost students, "Bamboo is not a tree", "I, Pencil", and trust-based governance.