By Virtuoso
As rightly observed, ‘...in the end, leadership is not about being visible. It is about being responsible. And there is no higher responsibility than keeping one’s word.’
During every election season within the university community, aspirants for various offices emerge with eloquent speeches, creative campaign strategies, and well-written manifestos brimming with promises.
These documents and the promises they feature, often circulated through social media, posters, handbills and even during the official manifesto night, serve as the cornerstone of the aspirant’s appeal to the electorate. They contain plans for improved welfare, transparency, innovation, and representation. Yet, once elections are over and victory secured, a concerning trend emerges, many of these promises are abandoned, forgotten, or left unfulfilled. This growing disconnect between campaign promises and administrative performance reveals a deeper crisis of the lack of accountability in student leadership.
The Crisis of Accountability Within the Students' Community
Accountability remains one of the most essential pillars of any credible, functioning leadership structure. It ensures that leaders remain answerable to those they serve and represent, particularly when entrusted with responsibilities that directly affect the welfare, rights, and experience of students.
In the context of student politics, where leadership is often transitional and short-term, it becomes even more vital that those elected do not treat their manifestos as mere campaign rhetoric but as binding social contracts between the leadership and the masses they represent. It is only fair and important to recognise and understand that leading within a university community presents unique challenges. Student leaders frequently juggle academic obligations alongside the burdens of administration, representation and inadequate funding. Many face institutional limitations and bureaucratic red tape that hinder swift action. However, such constraints should never become a justification for silence or inaction.
Leadership, especially within a students’ community, was never meant to be convenient. The question is not whether a leader faces challenges; the question is whether the leader remains true to the ideals they sold to the people. A leader who cannot fulfil a promise should, at the very least, communicate clearly and honestly with their constituents, explaining the reasons and proposing alternative solutions. If realities change and goals need adjusting, communication is key. The worst kind of leadership is not one that fails to achieve everything but one that pretends students have no right to ask.
Selective Visibility, the Politics of Convenience and Its Unfortunate Tendencies
Unfortunately, what is increasingly observed is a culture of selective engagement where leaders only communicate when it is convenient and avoid public scrutiny when their performance falls short. Campaign promises regarding transparent budgeting, hall improvements, academic support, or inclusive governance often fade into obscurity shortly after elections, with little or no public update on progress or setbacks.
This culture is unfortunate, damning and, in fact, dangerous. It breeds apathy among members of the student body and, to a very large extent, erodes trust in student representative structures. When leaders deviate from their manifestos without explanation, they not only lose credibility but also damage the legitimacy of students’ government as a whole. The office becomes symbolic rather than functional, and politics turns performative rather than transformative.
The Need for Change: A Call to Action
Therefore, there must be a conscious and collective return to a culture of accountability and responsibility. Student leaders must understand that the promises they make are not to be taken lightly. They must set realistic goals, develop actionable plans, and regularly update the student community on their progress. Leadership is not defined by occupying an office but by the consistency of action and the integrity of purpose. Occupying an office is not an end in itself. It is a means of serving one’s constituency.
Equally, the student body must take on the role of watchdogs, not in hostility, but in vigilance. It is the duty of the electorate to ask questions, demand accountability, and genuinely expect transparency. Student journalists, press organisations, and legislative councils all have roles to play in ensuring that leadership does not operate in isolation or silence. Manifesto promises must be seen for what they are. They are not publicity or marketing tools done for the sake of it, but for public commitments.
Student leaders who are serious about growth and meaningful impact must ensure that their words match their actions. History on campus remembers not those who campaigned the loudest, but those who delivered the most. In every hall and faculty, and even at the Students' Union level, let accountability guide the actions of those elected to serve. The strength of our students’ community lies not just in who we elect but in how we hold them accountable
