Rajagiri Association of Yesteryear Students

Charter and Bylaws

Preamble This is the Charter adopted by the first Executive Committee on the fifteenth day of February, 2011. The following draft shall, hereafter, be the basis on which the Executive Committee and all the registered members of the Association shall obey to the letter and up hold in spirit.

CONTENTS Introduction Section 1: Aims and Objectives Section 2: Constitution of the Association Section 3: Membership Section 4: Privileges of membership Section 5: The General Body Section 6: The Executive Committee Section 7: Office bearers of the Association

Section 8: Roles of the members of the Executive Committee Section 9: The Sub Committees Section 10: The Election Section 11: Amendments to the Constitution, By-laws and Rules Section 12: Disqualification Section 13: Dissolution of the Association

INTRODUCTION The name of the alumni association of Rajagiri Public School, hereafter referred to as the School, is RAJAGIRI ASSOCIATION OF YESTERYEAR STUDENTS abbreviated as RAYS and hereafter referred to as the Association.

SECTION 1: AIMS AND OBJECTIVES This Charter makes it explicitly clear that the Association will not interfere into the matters regarding the day to day management of the school or other associations affiliated to the School. The Association is an independent body that is not governed by any other law other than its own as it aims to fulfill the following undertakings, (a) To impart a sense of co-operation and healthy understanding among the alumni and former and present day staff and students of the School. (b) To promote academic, cultural and social activities of the teaching staff and the Alumni and their families. (c) To work in close co-operation with the Management and affiliated associations of the School in matters of common interest. (d) To maintain a directory of the Alumni within India and abroad including regular updating their present status and achievements in various fields. (e) To help the Alumni and school management to gather information in the directory for legitimate purposes. (f) To act as a liaison between the alumni and the present students, teaching staff, PTA and Management of the School.

(g) To organize programs to the benefit of the members of the Association as well as students and staff of the School. (h) (i) Undertake activities for the development of the School. To undertake necessary action,

(a) Wherever there seems to be an emergency as in the case of life of any of the Association members or his/her family or, (b) property/assets of the Association or, (c) property/assets of the School or,

(d) any activities under the aegis of the Association which may require immediate funds. (j) To provide a common place of meeting and recreation to members on request or as part of the Associations Alumni benefit activities.

SECTION 2: CONSTITUTION OF THE ASSOCIATION The Association shall consist of Alumni members and former staff, whose names are entered in a register and maintained by the Secretary. The register shall also contain the qualifications, contact details, institutions where they received education, organization/company/firm they were/are presently employed in and any other relevant details to be provided by the member. The register shall be in the custody of the Secretary and made up-to-date as and when new members are enrolled or details edited. The permanent Headquarters of the Association shall be the School. Temporary offices shall be maintained at the place of the Secretary for convenience and other Regional Offices maybe setup after due authorization by the Executive Committee. These Regional Offices must follow the guidelines issued from the Headquarters. All transactions shall be made through the Headquarters only or modes authorized by the Executive Committee. The year of the Association shall be, for all purposes, from the First day of April of each year to the Thirtyfirst day of March of next year.

SECTION 3: MEMBERSHIP The membership is open to all students who have passed out from the School either after twelfth grade or after having successfully completed two years of study in the School. For former staff member, he/she must have taught for a period of two academic years. An alumnus or former staff becomes a life time member only on the payment of the onetime membership charges of Rs. 400/- (Rupees Four Hundred Only) with an additional charge of Rs.50/- (Rupees Fifty only) if applicable for outstation instruments; which maybe remitted by

cheque or Demand Draft or through the facility of Internet Banking. Additionally, the charges maybe paid through cash at the headquarters of the Association. The application form can be filled either online or bought from the Headquarter office or those centers authorized by the Executive Committee. Any revision of membership charges should be passed by the General Body and is applicable only to the next outgoing batch of the School. The Executive Committee can deny membership to a person only after presenting their case to the General Body and receiving its approval

SECTION 4: PRIVILEGES OF MEMBERSHIP Every member shall have the privilege of participating in all the activities of the Association, including voting and seeking election to the Executive Committee as and when elections are announced. Every member can make use of the facilities of the Association with the prior approval of the Executive Committee and paying any charges, if applicable. Every member shall have the right of receiving newsletters, journals or other publications of the Association including a copy of this Charter.

SECTION 5: THE GENERAL BODY All the members of the Association constitute the General Body. The General Body shall be convened at least once a year. The date of the General Body Meet would be as and when decided by the Executive Committee. Every member is obliged to attend this meet and participate in the discussions whenever convenience permits. Every member has the right towards receiving the minutes of such meetings on request. The General Body is the final authority on matters of change in this Charter and has the power of overturning decisions of the Executive Committee provided there is consensus. A consensus is here by defined as at least 55% of the totals votes polled. The quorum for all meetings shall be 10% of total membership or 50 whichever is lower. The Executive Committee shall ensure that they publish the minutes of the previous General Body and also the Agenda of the current general Body at least two weeks earlier. All matters pertaining to the Association shall be put on the website by the Secretary in consultation with the Chairperson.

SECTION 6: THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE The Executive Committee is responsible for the smooth functioning of the Association including the calling of meets, financing its activities, deciding on courses of action, preparing the agendas of the Association and ensuring support and co-operation to the members and the School. The Executive Committee shall meet at least twice a year.

Decisions maybe endorsed only if the Executive Committee meeting is represented at least by the Chairperson and Secretary and any two of the other members. The tenure of the Executive Committee shall be for a period of 1 (One) year. The previous Vice Chairperson and Secretary may continue on in an advisory capacity for not more than six months in the next Executive Committee at the request of the incumbent Vice Chairperson. This request must be conveyed in writing, stating clearly the number of months that the member would be required in the capacity of an Advisor. Although, the ultimate decision to accept such a position rests with the member whose service is being requested.

SECTION 7: OFFICE BEARERS OF THE ASSOCIATION (a) The Executive Committee 1. There will be a Chairperson who is the respected Principal of the School. 2. There will be a Vice Chairperson who should be a former student or staff, elected from and by the General Body. 3. There will be a Secretary who should be a former student or staff, elected from and by the General Body. 4. There will be a Treasurer who should be a former student or staff, elected from and by the General Body. 5. There will be five Joint Secretaries, four of whom who should be a former student, applied from the General Body but nominated by the elected Secretary, on the reception of duly filled in application forms for the post of Joint Secretary from the interested members, and one appointed by the Executive Committee from the present Eleventh or Twelfth grade of the School and would be referred to as Honorary Joint Secretary. 6. All the aforementioned personnel, except the Chairperson and the Honorary Joint Secretary, should be members of the General Body and should be elected by process of vote through secret ballot.

SECTION 8: ROLES OF THE MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (a) The Chairperson 1. Shall preside over all meetings including the meetings of the Executive Committee. 2. Shall take initiative and guide the activities of the Association and act as a role model for all the members. 3. Does not have the right to vote except in cases of deadlock. 4. Shall be an impartial judge in matters relating to the Association.

(b) The Vice Chairperson

1. Shall introduce the topics of discussion on the advice of the Secretary, record the minutes of the meeting and share voting rights as any other member of the Executive Committee. 2. Shall call for vote on matters of discussion. 3. Shall be responsible for the Association.

(c)

The Secretary 1. Shall be responsible for the day to day functions of the Association and promoting its objectives. 2. Responsible for publication of the minutes of the meetings and preparation of the agenda for discussion. 3. Shall keep a record of the Documents. This maybe done through any media provided he/she ensures that it is not tampered with. 4. Shall maintain the records of the members and ensure smooth updating facilities if the member so desires and agreed to by the Secretary. 5. Shall be responsible for the custody and safe keeping of the movable and immovable properties of the Association and keep an inventory of these. The Secretary should serve as an advisor to the Vice Chairperson with regard to the conducting of the various meetings. 6. Shall hand over the custody of the various documents, rights to property of the Association and its assets to the Secretary-elect as soon as his/her tenure ends or within the six months in case he/she serves in the capacity of an Advisory Secretary for the next Executive Committee as per the request of the Vice Chairperson. 7. Shall recommend the setting up and supervision of any other sub- committee so appointed by the Executive Committee. 8. Shall submit reports on various activities to the Chairperson. 9. Shall also head the sub-committee which maybe formed to look into possibilities for improvement of the Associations influence and to address members grievances/ complaints and submit a report to the Chairperson in this regard.

10. Shall advice the Vice Chairperson with regard to agenda of all meetings and its subsequent sequence of presentation.

(d)

Joint Secretary 1. Shall be appointed by the Vice Chairperson to perform the role of the Secretary during his/her absence. The Vice Chairperson may select one from the five in this regard. 2. Would be under the direction of the Secretary.

(e)

Treasurer

1. The Treasurer shall be in charge of the Treasury and Finance Committee. 2. The Treasury shall be a Joint Bank Account under the names of the incumbent Director of the School and Treasurer. 3. Duty bound to release information about the Association Balance sheet to any member upon request or under the direction of law. 4. Shall ensure that all transactions be done only through cheque or demand draft requiring the approval of both account holders. 5. Shall inform and receive approval from the Executive Committee for spending finances of the Association. 6. Shall get the accounts audited by a qualified auditor as approved by the Executive Committee. The audited accounts should then be presented to the General Body.

SECTION 9: SUB COMMITTEES In order to carry out the various activities of the Association effectively, the following sub committees maybe formed with the approval of the Executive Committee: (a) Advisory Committee: This Committee will include able members of the Association with not more than two (2) members from a single batch. The number of members should not exceed twenty five (25) as appointed by the Executive Committee and will be headed by the senior most Joint Secretary or as appointed by the Secretary. This Committee shall advice the Executive Committee on various activities including Association development, social service and charity, course of action and provides solicited advice as and when necessary. (b) Finance Committee: This Committee will be under the direction of the Treasurer who shall appoint its members who must have some experience in finance. The Committee shall formulate the budget of the Association in correspondence with the Executive Committee and strategize the ways and means of raising funds and its proper utilization. Shall aid in the procedures of auditing of accounts. It shall also prepare initial drafts for policies regarding matters of finance. (c) Membership and Batch Coordination Committee: Every batch of pass outs from the School will be represented by a maximum of two members in this Committee. They will be primarily responsible for ensuring the registration of their fellow batch mates. The Committee is responsible for issuing documents in the form of identification cards or other representations to the members which should be produced at the time of Elections or Meets by the members. The Committee maybe contacted to inform of any updates with regard to personal data submitted by the members. (d) Publications Committee: To be in charge of bringing out Newsletters and updating the Alumni website to the various activities of the Association and of the School. There will be a Chief Editor who will be responsible for the contents as and when published. This Committee will be headed by a Joint Secretary and will be appointed by the Secretary. The Joint Secretary may decide on the appointing of Chief Editor and other members, if applicable. The Chief Editor may be an Alumni or present student of the School.

SECTION 10: THE ELECTION It is the duty of the incumbent Executive Committee to arrange for Elections to the next Executive Committee. The Vice Chairperson shall lead the Executive Committee in proper execution of these elections and all members of the Executive Committee and General Body are duty bound to provide their full cooperation in this regard. The General Body shall be informed through proper media of the dates for election at least two months prior to the Election Day and each member would be given a Form for Nomination along with the instructions, rules and regulations to be observed while filling up the form, campaigning and the mode of Election which includes the method of voting. Concomitantly, the Application for the post of Joint Secretary must also be announced and made available to the members. The last dates for filing applications and withdrawing applications should be also detailed. The Executive Committee must scrutinize the Form for Nomination and release the list of eligible candidates at least a month prior to the elections. Once the Vice Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer have been elected, they may work in consultation with the Chairperson to elect members to the post of Joint Secretary from the received applications. The Honorary Joint Secretary maybe elected after due consultations with the faculty of the School. Members of the present Executive Committee may vie for posts in the next Executive Committee also; provided they would not have served for three continuous terms in office. A Member of the General Body can apply for only one post on the Executive Committee per election. In case of resignation or death of one of the Executive Committee members, the Vice Chairperson may ask one of his members of the present Executive Committee to take up the post for an interim period until the next elections or if any member of the previous Executive Committee volunteers for the post. Any sort of malpractice in the run up or during or after the Elections or intentions to dishonor the sanctity of the Elections should be condemned and the strictest of punishments on the approval of the General Body should be meted out to the culprits.

SECTION 11: AMENDMENT TO CONSTITUTION, RULES AND BY- LAWS Requests for amendments to the Constitution, rules and by- laws shall reach the Chairperson and the Secretary at least a month before the General Body and be proposed by at least five members. The Secretary shall circulate the amendments proposed to all the members. The amendments are to be discussed in the Executive Committee before submission to the General Body. The amendments are to be presented, discussed and decisions taken in the General Body meet with a minimum quorum of 3/5th majority. A special meeting of the General Body maybe called for towards this effect following a special notification. In a situation where the Executive Committee feels the need for a change of laws at the earliest and recognizes there is no convenience of calling for a General Body Meet, the Executive Committee may pass the resolution if it achieves a simple majority and the resolution maybe effected. It is however, duty bound to circulate the changes among the

members within forty eight (48) hours of adopting the resolution and put to vote at the next General Body Meet.

SECTION 12: DISQUALIFICATIONS (a) Any member can be disqualified or dismissed from the Association by the Executive Committee after bringing their reasons before the General Body and receiving its approval. (b) In such an event as described by Section 12 (a), the Executive Committee can decide on whether to refund or retain any amount that the member may have paid earlier and the said member is obliged to pay any payments due towards the association within a period of ten days failing which, legal proceedings maybe undertaken against such a member. (c) The membership will be forfeited for indulging in activities against the interests of the Association. Further, such person will have no right over the privileges of the Association. (d) Every member has the right to defend his/her position and would be issued a show cause notice before the matter is introduced before the General Body. The Executive Committee should ensure that the person involved receives full, free and fair hearing in the presence of the Hearing Committee members of which are Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the association, before introducing the matter to the General Body.

SECTION 13: DISSOLUTION OF THE ASSOCIATION Under any unfortunate circumstances the Association is required to be wound up, the Executive Committee has to submit a proposal to the General Body giving valid reasons for the same. This proposal together with the valid reasons should be circulated among all members sufficiently early so as to enable them to make erudite decisions and the matter should be discussed by the General Body and put to vote. The funds/assets held by the Association till that day should then be used first to settle any outstanding liabilities against the Association and the remaining property/assets/cash maybe liquidated or transferred outright to the beneficiaries equally after due consultation. The beneficiaries in such cases would be: 1. KRIPA BHAVAN Chunagamvely, Erumathala P.O. Aluva 683 112 1. Outreach *address to be verified*