Welcome to NSS Unit 2: AP IIIT, RK Valley
The National
Service Scheme (NSS)
is an Indian government-sponsored public
service program conducted by the Department of Youth Affairs and
Sports of the Government of India. Popularly known as NSS, the
scheme was launched in Gandhiji's Centenary year, 1969. Aimed at
developing student's personality through community service, NSS is a
voluntary association of young people in Colleges, Universities and
at +2 level working for a campus-community linkage.
History
After
independence the University Grants Commission, headed by S.
Radhakrishnan, recommended the introduction of voluntary national
service in academic institutions. This idea was again considered by
the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) at its meeting in
January, 1950; after examining the idea and the experiences of other
countries in this field, the board recommended that students and
teachers should devote time to voluntary manual work. In the draft
first Five-Year Plan adopted by the government in 1952, the need for
social and labour service by Indian students for one year was
stressed. In 1958 Jawaharlal Nehru, in a letter to the chief
ministers, considered the idea of social service as a prerequisite
for graduation. He directed the Ministry of Education to formulate a
suitable scheme for the introduction of national service into
academic institutions.
Launch
of NSS
In
May 1969, a conference of student representatives (of universities
and institutions of higher education) convened by the Ministry of
Education and the University Grants Commission also unanimously
agreed that a national-service scheme could be an instrument for
national integration. The details were soon worked out and the
Planning Commission sanctioned an outlay of Rs. five crores for the
NSS during the Fourth Five-Year Plan, stipulating that the NSS be a
pilot project in select institutions and universities. On 24
September , then-Union Education Minister V.K.R.V. Rao launched the
NSS at 37 universities in all states. The scheme has been extended to
all states and universities in the country, and also +2-level
institutes in many states.
Symbol
of NSS
The
symbol for the NSS has been based on the giant Rath Wheel of the
world-famous Konark Sun Temple (The Black Pagoda) situated in Orissa,
India. The wheel portrays the cycle of creation, preservation and
release. It signifies the movement in life across time and space, the
symbol thus stands for continuity as well as change and implies the
continuous striving of NSS for social change. The eight bars in the
wheel represent the 24 hours of a day. The red colour indicates that
the volunteer is full of young blood that is lively, active,
energetic and full of high spirit. The navy blue colour indicates the
cosmos of which the NSS is tiny part, ready to contribute its share
for the welfare of the mankind.
Aim
The
programme aims to inculcate social welfare in students, and to
provide service to society without bias. NSS volunteers work to
ensure that everyone who is needy gets help to enhance their standard
of living and lead a life of dignity. In doing so, volunteers learn
from people in villages how to lead a good life despite a scarcity of
resources. it also provides help in natural and man-made disasters by
providing food, clothing and first aid to the disaster victims.
Organisation
At
national level, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of India is the
nodal authority, which works with state-level NSS cells. Sstate-level
NSS cells are responsibility of the respective state governments.
Within states, each university has University level NSS cell under
which institutions (schools and colleges) based NSS units operate.
Most government and government-aided institutions have volunteer NSS
units. Institutions are encouraged to have NSS volunteers. A unit
typically comprises 20–40 students. They are managed internally by
a responsible party from the school or college, who reports to the
regional NSS coordinator. Most institutions do not have a separate
uniform for NSS volunteers as there is standard khakhi colored
national dress for NSS.
Annual
NSS Camps
Camps
are held annually, funded by the government of India, and are usually
located in a rural village or a city suburb. Volunteers may be
involved in such activities as:
-
Cleaning
-
Afforestation
-
Stage shows or a procession creating awareness of such issues as social problems, education and cleanliness
-
Awareness Rallies
-
Inviting doctors for health camps
There
are no predefined or preassigned tasks; it is left up to the
volunteers to provide service in any way that is feasible. Camps
typically last between a week and 10 days, although camps for shorter
periods are also conducted by nss
