School students may soon get a chance to sign up as NSS volunteers without waiting for a government grant to come through. CBSE has asked heads of all affiliated schools to consider setting up National Service Scheme units on a self-financing basis, a route where the school itself pays for the activities instead of depending on public funds. The operational guidelines, the application proforma, and a brochure have been circulated along with the communication.
NSS, run under the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, started in 1969 with the idea of ‘Education through Service’. The Board says more than 8.4 crore students have benefited from it so far, and that it has helped build leadership, empathy and social responsibility among young people.
So what exactly is a Self-Financing Unit? The Ministry introduced the provision in 2007 because demand for new NSS units far outran the money available. A basic unit has 50 or 100 volunteers at the school or college level, headed by a Programme Officer.
What a school has to do
- The proposal for opening a new NSS SFU must be signed by the Principal or Head of the institution.
- It goes to the concerned NSS Regional Centre, with a copy to the State Liaison Officer and the NSS Programme Coordinator of the University or +2 Council concerned.
- Regional Centres will take approval from the Programme Adviser and convey approval or disapproval back to the school.
- Schools that already run fully funded NSS units can still add new units on a self-financing basis.
The proposal is expected to be self contained. Among the details asked for: management committee particulars with courses offered and number of students in each class (boys/girls), an operational plan with the number of units proposed, names of key personnel, infrastructure available, the source and scale of funding, past social work experience, recognition certificates, and the Principal’s contact details.
The money side
| Item | What the guidelines say |
|---|---|
| Regular activity cost norm | Not to exceed Rs.600/- |
| Special camping cost norm | Not to exceed Rs.1000/- |
| Out of pocket allowance, honorarium | As per prescribed norm under NSS manual |
| Fee from students | Institution may charge a nominal fee for NSS programme activities, subject to approval of systems and procedures prevalent in the institution |
Honorarium to the Programme Coordinator or Programme Officer, support staff costs, and funding for Regular Activity and Special Camping have to be borne by the SFU institution itself. Accounts must be kept separately and the audited account placed before the NSS Advisory Committee of the University, +2 Council or institution every year.
Affiliation runs for an initial 5 (five) years, extendable depending on how the unit performs. All provisions of the NSS manual are binding on a self-financing unit.
What volunteers actually do
Under Regular Activities, students work as volunteers for a continuous period of two years, putting in a minimum of 120 hours of community service per annum. Tree plantation, campus improvement, work in adopted villages and slums, blood donation, adult education, health and nutrition drives, AIDS awareness. The Special Camping Programme is a 07 days’ camp held every year in the adopted area on a theme.
The perks are not small. An SFU stands at par with other NSS units for all national level programmes run by NSS Headquarters, and its volunteers can be considered for the Republic Day Parade Camps including pre RD Camps, Adventure Programme, Mega Camps, Youth Festival and Award. They can also take part in national and international youth exchange programmes. Training and orientation of key NSS officials of the SFU will be handled by the concerned Regional Centre through its Training Orientation Centres (TORCs).
Once set up, the unit becomes part of the State NSS Contingent and works under the NSS State Liaison Cell of the State Government or UT Administration. Parents curious about the scheme can start with its motto, ‘NOT ME BUT YOU’.