NSS CA1 Answers

Shri Tech1404

Q1 Describes aims of NSS activity & classification of NSS Program

Aims of NSS Programmes/Activities

1.4 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:-

(i) 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;

(ii) 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 and socially weaker sections of the community;

(iii) Encouraging students and non-students to work together along with the adults in rural areas;

(iv) 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 involve them more intimately in the development programme and also to ensure proper maintenance of the assets created during the camps;

(v) Emphasizing dignity of labour and self-help and the need for combining physical work with intellectual pursuits;

(vi) 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.

Classification of NSS Programme

1.5 NSS activities have been divided in two major groups. These are regular NSS activities and special camping programme –

(a) Regular NSS Activity: Under this, students undertake various programmes in the adopted villages, college/school campuses and urban slums during week ends or after college hours;

(b) Special Camping Programme: Under this, camps of 10 days duration are organised in adopted villages or urban slums during vacations with some specific projects by involving local communities. 50% NSS volunteers are expected to participate in these camps. Special Camping programme under NSS has been dealt with in Part III in detail.

1.6 NSS Regular Activities: As stated above, NSS volunteers undertake various activities in adopted villages and slums for community service. Duration of these services is 120 hours. The NSS units organise the regular activities as detailed below:

(i) Orientation of NSS volunteers: To get the NSS volunteers acquainted with the basics of NSS programmes, 20 hours are allocated for their orientation through lectures, discussions, field visits and audio-visuals etc.

(ii) Campus Work: The NSS volunteers may be involved in the projects undertaken for the benefit of the institution and students concerned. Such projects cover development of play grounds, laying of gardens, tree plantation in the premises, awareness programmes on drug-abuse, AIDS, population education and other projects. The NSS volunteers may work on campus projects for not exceeding 30 hours in a year;

(iii) The remaining 70 hours will be utilized for community service on the projects in adopted villages/urban slums independently or in collaboration with others in this field, as detailed below:

(a) Institutional work: The students may be placed with selected voluntary organisations working for the welfare of women, children, aged and disabled outside the campus.

(b) Rural Project: The rural projects generally include the working of NSS volunteers in adopted villages for eradication of illiteracy, watershed management and wasteland development, agricultural operations, health, nutrition, hygiene, sanitation, mother and child care, family life education, gender justice, development of rural cooperatives, savings drives, construction of rural roads, campaign against social evils etc.

(c) Urban Projects: In addition to rural projects other include adult education, welfare of slum dwellers, training in civil defence, traffic control, setting up first-aid posts, work in hospitals, orphanages, destitute home, environment, population education, drug, AIDS awareness, and income generation projects etc. Professional and technical institutions having NSS may have to design appropriate programmes for the community based on the needs.

(d) Natural calamities & National Emergencies: The NSS units are expected to utilize the services of NSS volunteers at the time of natural calamities and national emergencies for mobilizing public support and rendering necessary assistance to the authorities in rescue, relief and rehabilitation. In such emergencies and calamities the Programme Officers are expected to take the initiative and offer the services of the NSS units and its volunteers to assist the administration.

(e) National Days and Celebrations: The National Service Scheme programmes also include the celebration of National days. The purpose of such a provision is to celebrate such occasions in a befitting manner.

1.7 National Programmes: In the development perspective of any nation, certain programmes assumes special relevance in view of problems existing or anticipated. In our country, three such programmes have been launched. They are the Mass Programme of Functional Literacy, AIDS Awareness Programme and Sustainable Development with emphasis on Watershed Management & Wasteland Development. It is pertinent to mention here that NSS Volunteers have come forward with zeal to make these programmes a great success.

 

Q2 Describe basic concept of NSS & explain objectives, motto of NSS?

Basic concept of NSS

NSS Programme Officer : The Programme Officer, who is a member of the teaching faculty provides necessary leadership to the youth/NSS students. The teacher/NSS programme officer has the professional knowledge and skills. He/she is also a representative of the school/college and the educated elite and knows the needs and aspirations of student youth. Further he/she is expected to be a role model of the values and the norms of the institution and the society as a whole. Therefore, he/she is the fittest person to provide necessary lead to the students in developing their personality through community service. In fact the Programme Officer is a friend, philosopher and guide to the students in achieving this goal.

NSS Volunteer : The NSS volunteer, who is a college/+2 level student is the main beneficiary of the programme by way of development of his/her perception about the community, his/her skill to perform certain jobs, and develop quality of a leader, organiser, and an administrator and development of his/her personality as a whole. Through NSS, he/she gets opportunities to see the community closely and thus gets an experience of human nature in relation to his/her environment. This is how the NSS programme aims to make NSS student youth better citizens through “Development of their personality through Community Service”.

Community :The community provides NSS volunteer the first hand knowledge of living conditions of masses to the NSS volunteers and thus, the process of mutual learning starts. The interaction of community with students and teachers while on one hand enrich the personality of student volunteers and on the other hand help the community to improve its living conditions

Objectives:

 1. The broad objectives of NSS are to:

(i) understand the community in which they work

(ii) understand themselves in relation to their community;

(iii) identify the needs and problems of the community and involve them in problem solving process; (iv) develop among themselves a sense of social and civic responsibility;

(v) utilize their knowledge in finding practical solution to individual and community problems;

(vi) develop competence required for group living and sharing of responsibilities;

(vii) gain skills in mobilizing community participation;

(viii) acquire leadership qualities and democratic attitude;

(ix) develop capacity to meet emergencies and natural disasters and

(x) practice national integration and social harmony.

Motto

The motto or watchword of the National Service Scheme is : ‘NOT ME BUT YOU’. This reflects the essence of democratic living and upholds the need for selfless service and appreciation of the other person’s point of view and also to show consideration for fellow human beings. It underlines that the welfare of an individual is ultimately dependent on the welfare of society on the whole. Therefore, it should be the aim of the NSS to demonstrate this motto in its day-to-day programme.

 

Q3 Explain National Services volunteer scheme?

1.      Participation in NSS Programme/Training

A student enrolled as NSS volunteers will have to put in 120 hours for community work in a year for a period of 2 years. He/she is likely to participate in different programmes and projects under NSS. The distribution of 120 hours on NSS activities is given as under :-

(a) Orientation

(i) Each NSS volunteers who joins NSS will undergo an orientation in NSS Programme for 20 hours out of 120 hours. The 20 hours meant for orientation will further be divided as general orientation – 2 hours; special orientation – 8 hours and Programme skill learning – 10 hours. During the general orientation the NSS volunteers will get to know the history and growth of NSS programme, aims, objectives and other basic concepts of NSS.

(ii) After the general orientation is completed the students will be given special orientation where information regarding the realities of life pertaining to community and its problems. Volunteers will be encouraged to know more about the problems of village/urban slums and will be oriented for the schemes which are sponsored by the Government agencies and voluntary organizations in the field of community service;

(iii) The 3rd place of orientation will consist of developing programme skills which are essential for community work and completion of NSS projects. During the orientation the NSS volunteers should be given information regarding the following :-

1. To establish report with the people in the project area;

2. Identify needs, problems and resources of the community;

3. Plan programmes and carry out the plans;

4. Relate learning and experience towards finding solutions to the problems identified; and

5. Record the activities in work diary systematically and assess the progress periodically and effect changes, as and when needed.

(b) Campus Projects The NSS volunteers may be asked to participated in the campus projects not exceeding 20 hours. The purpose of the campus project is to motivate the NSS volunteers for manual work and to instill dignity of labour.

(c) Community Work NSS has made efforts to link the campus with community. Hence, the remaining 80 hours will be devoted to the community work. The NSS volunteer is expected to participate in projects prepared by the Programme Officer for community work. The aim of such projects is to bring the NSS volunteer face to face with the realities of life and needs & requirements of the community. The volunteer is expected to develop rapport with the community by sharing their problems and help them to overcome their difficulties. This first hand exposure to community realities does help to develop the personality of the volunteer.

2. Maintenance of Diary

Every NSS volunteer will keep a record of his/her project work in his/her work diary supplied by the Programme Officer.

3.      Certificate

NSS volunteer who has completed 240 hours of regular activities in the period of 2 years and attended one annual special camp, will be issued an NSS certificate by the respective university. In case, a volunteer does not fulfill the above condition and has to miss the university certificate, the college authorities may issue a certificate to the NSS volunteer.

4. Incentive

(a) The NSS volunteers should get appropriate weightage if he/she completes 2 years in NSS and gets the certificate signed by the Vice-Chancellor of the university/Head of +2 council Universities may give preference to such NSS volunteers in matters of admission, promotion and other privileges as decided by them.

(b) NSS volunteers should be honoured at university level for their excellent and outstanding work in NSS. The universities may prepare guidelines for such incentives.

(c) The states may also institute state level/district level awards for outstanding NSS volunteers.

 

Q5 Short note on – A. Adoption of villages

B. coordination with voluntary organization

A. Adoption of Villages

1.1 Adoption of a village and area is a very meaningful programme in NSS. It is far better to concentrate attention on one village and take up the task for development perspective, than to fritter away energy in many locations involving too many activities which may not be completed at all or where the follow up action may not be possible. From this point of view, village adoption programme should ensure continuity of work vis-à-vis sustained action, evaluation and follow up work.

Contacting Village/Area Leaders

1.2 As a first step in this programme, it is necessary to establish contact with more than one village which would help to select a village where ‘Leadership’ is well established. In other words, selecting a village with proper leadership is very important as the sustained follow up action and evaluation is ensured in such places. To start with, the NSS unit can take the help of the Block Authorities, District Panchayat Officer, District Tribal Welfare Officer, District Medical Officer, Extension Officer of Agriculture, Irrigation and Education Departments for the selection of the village. It is to be noted that the selected villages should be within a short distance from the college so that constant contact can easily be made.

Survey of the Village/Area

1.3 Before drawing up the plan of action, it is absolutely necessary to conduct a comprehensive survey of few villages situated at a short distance from the college. The assistance from the teachers and students of agriculture, economics, commerce, geography, statistics, home science, social work, medicine, psychology and education etc. have to be sought for the purpose. Conducting socio-economic survey can be an interesting field activity which has direct bearing on the curriculum of economics, commerce, statistics, psychology, health education etc. The report of such a survey will provide up-to-date information about the problems and potentials of the village and help in programme planning for village development. The applied field work will help the students to increase their analytical ability and deepen their thinking. Further, this will help them to identify the problems which have been left unnoticed. The survey work can also be accomplished with the help of PRA exercises (Participatory Rural Appraisal)

Identification of Problem(s)

1.4 It is on the basis of this need assessment that projects/programmes are to be formulated. The programme officers should use their discretion and should identify the projects which can be completed by seeking assistance from the communities/other agencies.

1.5 As the aim of adoption of village or area is to give new ideas of development to the villagers which would improve their living conditions. Once the trust of the communities is won, they start cooperating with the NSS volunteers and approach them for solution of their problems. One of the important service that can be rendered by NSS volunteers is disseminating information about the latest developments in agriculture, watershed management, wastelands development, non-conventional energy, low cost housing, sanitation, nutrition and personal hygiene, schemes for skill development, income generation, government schemes, legal aid, consumer protection and allied field. A liaison between government and other development agencies like Banks, IRDP, ICDS, NREP, DWCRA, JRY etc. can also be made.

1.6 The Programme Officers (PO) should motivate the communities to involve themselves with NSS for the community development work undertaken by the NSS unit. Further he or she will have to seek the help of various government departments and agencies for technical advice and financial assistance. Therefore, he/she must establish lathes good rapport with the government officials and development agencies. For this, it is better if the administration is taken into confidence by prior consultations.

Completion of Projects

1.7 As already stated, the Programme Officer must select the projects very carefully as the image of NSS depends upon the successful completion of such projects. Successful completion of the projects can win appreciation and credit of the community.

Evaluation of Project

1.8   Every project should be evaluated after its completion by involving members of the community, Government officials and Panchayat officials. The NSS unit should learn from the lapses in the execution of the project and plan for the next project keeping in view the bottlenecks and constraints faced by them during the earlier project.

B. Coordination with Voluntary Organisations

It may be noted that the NSS unit has no financial resource to implement any programme in the adopted villages or slum on its own. Therefore, a successful unit has to closely coordinate with the government agencies and voluntary organisations working in this field.

3.1 After identification of the needs of the community and the selection of projects, the programme officer should look for the Government agency or a voluntary organisation who can assist in the completion of a particular project. The different departments of the Government like forest, agriculture, adult education, health, child and family welfare, can render very useful assistance to the project pertaining to community work. Voluntary organisations can also help in forming public opinion in favour of NSS projects. Adult education samitis, Nasha Bandi Boards, Yuva Mandals and Mahila Mandals can provide additional assistance to the NSs units. Similarly voluntary land statutory welfare agencies such as Community Centres, Residential Institutions for children/women, the Aged and Institutions for physically handicapped and disabled can provide a wide scope of the choice of service to the NSS volunteers. NSS volunteers can be placed with these agencies considering the inherent aptitudes and inclinations of NSS volunteers. NSS volunteers must be told to develop a sense of belonging and respect for the people with whom they are working. Working in close collaboration with these agencies will help the NSS volunteers in understanding the problems of a vulnerable section of the society. The work opportunities in the welfare institutions may be enumerated as under:-

(i) adoption of welfare institutions and helping the inmates and staff by arranging outings, fund collection drives, reading and writing letters for those who are unable to do so;

(ii) propagation of the message of small family norms, health education, small savings drives etc; (iii) working for improvement of physical environment;

(iv) programme of non-formal education and general literacy classes;

(v) organisation of economic development activities;

(vi) establishment of hobby centres and

(vii) assisting in the rehabilitation work of the disabled, destitute etc.

 

Q4: list & explain activities during regular as well as special camping.

Suggestive list of activities during Regular as well as Special Camping

(a) Environment Enrichment and Conservation: Whereas the main theme for the special camping programme would be “Youth for Sustainable Development”, activities aimed at environment – enrichment would be organised under the sub-theme of” Youth for Better Environment”. The activities under this sub-theme would inter-alia, include:

(i) plantation of trees, their preservation and upkeep (each NSS unit should plant and protect at least 1000 saplings);

(ii) creation of NSS parks/gardens, Tarun Treveni Vanas.

(iii) Construction & maintenance of village streets, drains, etc. so as to keep the environment clean; (iv) Construction of sanitary latrines etc.

(v) Cleaning of village ponds and wells;

(vi) Popularization and construction of Gobar Gas Plants, use of non-conventional energy;

(vii) Environmental sanitation, and disposal of garbage & composting;

(viii) Prevention of soil erosion, and work for soil conservation, (ix) Watershed management and wasteland development

(x) Preservation and upkeep of monuments, and creation of consciousness about the preservation of cultural heritage among the community.

(b) Health, Family Welfare and Nutrition Programme:

(i) Programme of mass immunization;

(ii) Working with people in nutrition programmes with the help of Home Science and medical college students;

(iii) Provision of safe and clean drinking water;

(iv) Integrated child development programmes;

(v) Health education, AIDS Awareness and preliminary health care.

(vi) Population education and family welfare programme;

(vii) Life style education centres and counseling centres.

(c) Programmes aimed at creating an awareness for improvement of the status of women: They may, inter-alia, include:

(i) programmes of educating people and making them aware of women’s rights both constitutional and legal;

(ii) creating consciousness among women that they too contributed to economic and social well-being of the community;

(iii) creating awareness among women that there is no occupation or vocation which is not open to them provided they acquire the requisite skills; and

(iv) imparting training to women in sewing, embroidery, knitting and other skills wherever possible.

(d) Social Service Programmes: Depending on the local needs and priorities, the following activities/programmes may be undertaken:-

(i) work in hospitals, for example, serving as ward visitors to cheer the patients, help the patients, arranging occupational or hobby activities for long term patients; guidance service for out-door-patients including guiding visitors about hospital’s procedures, letter writing and reading for the patients admitted in the hospital; follow up of patients discharged from the hospital by making home visits and places of work, assistance in running dispensaries etc.

(ii) work with the organisations of child welfare;

(iii) work in institutions meant for physically and mentally handicapped;

(iv) organising blood donation, eye pledge programmes;

(v) work in Cheshire homes, orphanages, homes for the aged etc.;

(vi) work in welfare organisations of women;

(vii) prevention of slums through social education and community action;