Bhubaneswar, Jan. 23: Authorities of colleges, universities and technical institutions across the state will administer oath to their students on January 25 — the National Voter Day.

On the occasion they would pledge to take part in the electoral process.

The step is being taken to encourage more students to exercise their voting rights.

Chief electoral officer Mona Sharma, in a letter, has requested the higher education department to organise the National Voter Day in all academic and technical institutions across the state.

An especially prepared sankalpa patra has been sent to the department to circulate among the colleges.

“We have received the letter and already sent them to various colleges,” said a senior official of the department.

The sankalpa patra has a list of pledges for the students to ensure compulsory and ethical voting.

The students will vow to exercise their vote under any circumstances and elect the people’s representatives without being influenced by unethical practices. They will promise to encourage their family members and relatives to cast their votes as well.

The students will also pledge not to be influenced by caste, creed, religion or fear.

In another development, quiz and slogan-writing competitions among the youth have been organised in about 1,300 institutions having National Service Scheme (NSS) units and all the district headquarters.

The contests organised in association with the NSS, Odisha and the Odisha Election Watch and their partner agencies aims to popularise electoral participation and advance voter’s education.

A badge with the slogan “Proud to be a voter-Ready to vote” will be distributed to the newly registered electors, an official said.

“The occasion provides an opportunity to the public in general and voters in particular to redeem themselves to take part in the electoral process. This is also the best time for encouraging the students to exercise their vote as voting is important not only to an individual, but also to the country,” said Sharma.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Banani Sathpaty, a senior professor, said: “Voting should be seen as one of the duties of a citizen. We as elders must ask students to encourage others to exercise their votes. This is a step towards the right direction.”

“We are already thinking to enrol ourselves in the voting list. We will also try to bring unethical practices to the notice of the district administration,” said Biplab, a student.