New Constitution

Posted on November 2, 2009
Filed Under Democratic structure, Materials, Resources

The new Education Not For Sale constitution, amended and ratified at ENS national conference on October 25th, 2009.

Education Not For Sale Constitution

EDUCATION NOT FOR SALE CONSTITUTION

1.
A The sovereign body within Education Not for Sale (henceforth ENS) shall be a public annual Conference, at which elections for all Steering Committee positions must be held. Between Conferences, ENS shall be governed by Steering Committee meetings, which shall be public and
B All ENS Members shall have the right to a ballot paper at Conference. Members shall have the right to one vote for every ballot paper they have been issued by the Secretary. Votes shall be cast in public and recorded on the ballot papers.
C Members who cannot be present but wish to vote through a representative may email the Secretary the name of a proxy (who need not be a member) to vote on their behalf, who shall be issued with a(nother) voting paper accordingly. No person shall exercise more than one vote (and one proxy vote if applicable).
D ENS Members are defined as individuals who have signed up for the current year’s membership – there is a suggested donation of £3 per year for membership, but this is not compulsory.

2.
The Steering Committee shall consist of:
A The Co-ordinators of ENS Autonomous Groups, who shall be responsible for ENS campaigns, statements, events and materials relating to the concerns of their respective Autonomous Groups.
B The Free Education Co-ordinator, who shall be responsible for ENS campaigns, statements, events and materials relating to the pursuit of free education and opposing the marketisation of education and cutbacks in education.
C The Student-Worker Solidarity Co-ordinator, who shall be responsible for coordinating ENS campaigns, statements, events and materials relating to solidarity with workers (both on and off campus) and students’ struggles as workers.
D The International Solidarity Co-ordinator, who shall be responsible for ENS campaigns, statements, events and materials relating to resistance to imperialism and war, and for coordinating solidarity with students and workers in struggle internationally.
E The Democracy Co-ordinator, who shall be responsible for ENS campaigns, statements, events and materials relating to the pursuit of democratic (student and worker-controlled) education and democracy within trade unions, students’ unions, and other relevant organisations.
F The FE & School Students Co-ordinator, who shall be responsible for ENS campaigns, statements, events and materials relating to the organisation and struggles of students outside of the HE sector.
G The Editor, who shall be responsible for:
i) Co-ordinating the production of national ENS materials – Website articles, the National Bulletin, flyers, etc.
ii) The layout, proofreading and editing of such materials in accordance with ENS policy.
iii) Ensuring that minority lines are not excluded or politically censored.
H The Web Manager, who shall be responsible for:
i) Promptly updating the Website with articles passed to them by the Editor and meeting information passed to them by the convenor, ensuring that Facebook event pages are created for meetings, demonstrations and other events, etc.
ii) Administrating the Discuss List, maintaining the ENS Facebook group and checking the national ENS email account regularly, promptly forwarding emails received by the account to the appropriate individuals and/or the Discuss List, etc.
iii) Generally maintaining the ENS internet infrastructure.
I The Secretary, who shall be responsible for:
i) Ensuring that ballot papers are available and minutes are taken at all ENS meetings, particularly Steering Committee meetings and Conference, and minutes are then promptly circulated.
ii) Storing and distributing ENS materials and publications.
iii) Generally maintaining ENS’ non-financial records and paperwork.
J The Treasurer, who shall be responsible for:
i) Maintaining ENS funds, bank accounts, receipts, bank statements, etc.
ii) Releasing funds when so instructed by the Steering Committee.
iii) Generally maintaining the ENS financial infrastructure.
K The Convenor, who shall be responsible for:
i) Ensuring that Conference, Steering Committee meetings, and any other national ENS meetings take place at the appropriate times. Each Conference must be held within 18 months of the last, and Conferences shall be held at roughly 12-month intervals whenever possible. Steering Committee must meet at least 4 times per year.
ii) Organising dates and venues, taking into account the preferences of ENS Members.
iii) Announcing dates and venues as instructed by this Constitution. At least four weeks’ notice for Conference, or one week’s notice for Steering Committee meetings, must be given by the Convenor via the Website and Discuss List.

3.
A The Steering Committee shall have no non-trivial powers not specified here, and any member of the Steering Committee may be recalled at any time.
B All ENS Members shall have the right to a ballot paper at Steering Committee meetings. Members shall have the right to one vote for every ballot paper they have been issued by the Secretary. Votes shall be cast in public and recorded on the ballot papers.
C Members who cannot be present but wish to vote through a representative may email the Secretary the name of a proxy (who need not be a member) to vote on their behalf, who shall be issued with a(nother) voting paper accordingly. N No person shall exercise more than one vote (and one proxy vote if applicable).

4.
A Groups of ENS Members may form Autonomous Groups on the basis of shared experience of oppression (eg. sex, race, sexuality, disability). Any other grouping shall be considered a Faction, with no automatic right to representation on the Steering Committee.
B Each Autonomous Group shall elect one Co-ordinator to sit on the Steering Committee, regardless of how it chooses to structure itself internally.
C Individuals or groups holding minority positions with ENS – whether the majority decision was made by Conference or the Steering Committee – have the right to make their disagreements public and argue their point of view, including proposing alternative platforms, organising themselves into factions and so on.
D Minority positions shall be allowed space on the ENS Website and in publications, time to caucus and run sessions at conference, etc.

5.
A Only Conference has the power to amend or replace this constitution or ENS’s basic statement of aims, ‘Where We Stand’.

APPENDIX I – ELECTIONS

1.
A Elections for all positions within Education Not for Sale shall be held by Alternative Vote – i.e. the candidate with the most votes is elected, and an uncontested candidate is elected automatically. Elections shall be held in the order in which the positions are named in Article 2 of the Constitution.
B All ENS Members shall have the right to stand in elections. Members may stand for as many positions as they wish, but will be withdrawn from all subsequent contests if they are elected to a position, so that they can only be elected to one position at Conference. Candidates shall be determined by self-nomination.
C Re-Open Nominations (RON) shall be a ‘candidate’ in all elections. If RON is ‘elected’, the election shall be held again at the next meeting/conference – the election shall re-start by repeating the nomination process, which shall be open to all Members once again. Candidates who stood in the election shall not have the right to fill a vacant position in the intervening time.
D Terms shall last from the Conference elected until the next Conference. No member may serve more than three terms.
E All ENS Members shall have the right to vote in elections – votes shall be cast in public and recorded on ballot papers.

2.
A If a position is vacant, then any Member (subject to Appendix article 1C), whether or not they already hold a position, shall have the right to serve as the ‘acting [position title]’ simply by nominating themselves, so long as the position has been vacant for at least one week. If at any point after this another Member also nominates themselves for the position, a by-election shall be held at the next Steering Meeting.
B Steering Committee shall not have the right to ‘co-opt’ Supporters into positions by any method other than suggesting that they nominate themselves for a vacant position.