Contact :

Dr. Shaji A.

Programme Co-ordinator. Tel: 9447324831

About NSS

National Service Scheme (NSS) was introduced in 1969 with the primary objective of developing the personality and character of the student youth through voluntary community service. Initially it was launched in 37 Universities involving about 40,000 volunteers. However, with the passage of time and as a Pan Indian programme, the number of educational institutions covered under NSS has been increasing year after year. Currently more than 36.5 lakh volunteers are enrolled in 39,695 NSS units spread over 391 Universities/ +2 Councils, 16,278 Colleges and Technical Institutions and 12,483 Senior Secondary Schools. Since its inception, over 4.78 crore students have benefited from NSS.

Each NSS volunteer is required to put in minimum 120 hours of service per year for two years, i.e., total 240 hours. This work is undertaken in villages/ slums adopted by NSS unit or in school/ college campuses usually after study hours or during weekends/ vacations. Besides, Each NSS unit organises a Special Camp of 7 days' duration in adopted villages or urban slums during vacations, with some specific projects, by involving the local communities. Each volunteer is required to participate in the Special Camp once during the 2-year period. Thus, about 50 percent of the NSS volunteers in a Unit participate in a particular Special Camp.

NSS units can take up any activity that has relevant to the community. The activities continue to evolve in response to the needs of the community. The core activities could be in the field of education and literacy, health, family welfare and nutrition, sanitation and cleanliness, environment conservation, social service programmes, programmes for improving status of women, production-oriented programmes, disaster relief and rehabilitation, campaigning against social evils, creating awareness about Flagship Programmes of the Government like Digital India, Skill India, and Promotion of Yoga. The main purpose of the National Service Scheme is the personality development of students through community service. Hence the NSS Cells of the Universities and Directorates are supposed to provide opportunities for trainings/workshops/ symposia/ competitions etc. for the development of the personality of NSS volunteers. Since the Government of India is allotting grants only for the regular activities and special camps of the NSS units, it is necessary to seek the financial assistance of other government bodies and funding agencies to meet the expenditure of such activities.

There are 164 units for National Service Scheme, University of Kerala and has a volunteer strength of 16400. An NSS Unit may consist of 100 Volunteers and the maximum number of units permissible to one individual college is 2 units. The NSS units of the University of Kerala are situated in the four southern districts of Kerala namely Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta. For coordination each NSS unit there will be one Programme Officer who is supposed to be a teaching faculty member of the college.

The external agencies associating with the implementation of the action plans include Kerala State Suchitva Mission, Mritasanjeevani (A Government of Kerala initiative), Sree Chitra Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology, Nehru Yuva Kendra, Social Forestry wing of the Forest department of Kerala, Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala State Biodiversity Board, Institute of Land and Disaster Management, Kerala State Excise Department, National Rural Health Mission, Red cross Society, Kerala State Aids Control Society, National Human Rights Commission, Kerala Women’s Commission, Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, High Power Committee on River Protection, Government of Kerala etc.

Aim & Objective

The National Service Scheme (NSS) is a Central Sector Scheme of Government of India, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports. It provides opportunity to the student youth of India to take part in various government led community service activities & programmes. The sole aim of the NSS is to provide hands on experience to young students in delivering community service. Since inception of the NSS in the year 1969, the number of students strength increased from 40,000 to over 3.8 million up to the end of March 2018 students in various universities, colleges and Institutions of higher learning have volunteered to take part in various community service programmes.

The overall aim of National Service Scheme as envisaged earlier, is to give an extension dimension to the higher education system and orient the student youth to community service while they are studying in educational institution. The reason for the formulation of this objective is the general realization that the college and +2 level students have a tendency to get alienated from the village/slum masses which constitute the majority of the population of the country. The educated youth who are expected to take the reins of administration in future are found to be unaware of the problems of the village/slum community and in certain cases are indifferent towards their needs and problems. Therefore it is necessary to arouse the social conscience of the students, and to provide them an opportunity to work with the people in the villages and slums. It is felt that their interaction with the common villagers and slum dwellers will expose them to the realities of life and bring a bout a change in their social perception.

NSS Programmes

National Service Scheme has two types of programmes – Regular Activities and Special Camping Programmes. Students enrolled as NSS Volunteers are expected to work in the scheme for a period of two years and also participate in Special Camping Programmes of 10 days duration.

Aims of NSS Programmes / Activities

The operational aim of NSS is to integrate the three basic components of the programme. NSS programme should provide a variety of learning experiences which must develop a sense of participation, service and achievement among the volunteers. The activities should aim at the following:-

1. Making education more relevant to the present situation to meet the felt needs of the community and supplement the education of the university/college students by bringing them face to face with the rural situation;
2. Providing opportunities to the students to play their role in planning and executing development projects which would not only help in creating durable community assets in rural areas and urban slums but also results in the improvement of quality of life of the economically weaker sections of the community;
3. Encouraging students and non – students to work together along with the adults in rural areas;
4. Developing qualities of leadership by discovering the latent potential among the campers, both students as well as local youth (Rural and Urban), with a view to involving them more intimately in the development programme and also ensuring proper maintenance of the assets created during the camps;
5. Emphasizing dignity of labour and self – help and the need for combining physical work with intellectual pursuits;
6. encouraging youth to participate enthusiastically in the process of national development and promote national integration through corporate living and cooperative action.

While undertaking these activities, each NSS unit should envisage its programmes/activities aimed at instilling discipline, building character, promotion of physical fitness and development of culture.

Regular Activities

NSS volunteer undertake various activities in campus adopted, villages and slumps for community service. Duration of these service is 120 hours ie. 20 hours for orientation of NSS volunteers, 30 hours for campus work and 70 hours for community service. In regular NSS programmes students undertake various activities in the college campuses, adopted villages, cities and slums during weekends. Adoption of a village or an area is a meaningful programme in NSS.