National Service Scheme at IIT Kanpur at a Glance

National Service Scheme

The National Service Scheme (NSS) was initiated by the Government of India in 1969 with the avowed intention of involving the youth in the nation -building process. The NSS is to provide an essential link between the college campus and the surrounding community. Not only is it expected to arouse the social consciousness of the students and teachers alike but also to provide an avenue for personality development through community service.

Indian Institutes of Technology

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) were created to engineer technological innovations that would improve the living standards of the society at large. To what extent this has been accomplished is a moot point. But no less important is the question of whether the educational process at the IITs sensitizes its students, beneficiaries as they are of a highly subsidized education, to the enormous challenges facing this country. While the torchbearers of the IIT-system proudly point to the ever increasing number of IIT-alumni decorating the corporate boardrooms, they fail to consider how many of these personal achievements have contributed to the progress of the nation.

NSS at IIT Kanpur

In keeping with the spirit of the NSS manual, a programme is being devised to address the problems facing the community in and around campus. The cornerstones of the programme will be primary and secondary education of the children belonging to the disadvantaged section of the society, adult literacy and addressing the environmental issues.

Currently, there are about 40 students enrolled in the programme. Around 25 students are involved in adult education programmes designed to teach basic reading, writing and arithmetic skills. One hour classes are held for six days in a week. About 15 students are involved in primary and secondary education. Some of them teach at the Opportunity School meant for children of those who work in campus but are not employees of IIT Kanpur) on Saturdays while the others teach at the nearby villages, Nankari and Lodhar. These activities are closely monitored by six faculty members who themselves are actively involved in social service. Students can get credit in terms of hours of work for participation in other relevant activities as and when the situation arises. In one such instance, about 15 students took part in the collection and packing of clothes during the recent Orissa Cyclone relief drive on campus. In future, we hope to initiate science education and environmental awareness programmes as part of the NSS. Participation in these activities will not only enable the students to appreciate the importance of teamwork but also sensitize them to the problems facing rural India. As has been pointed out recently by the Justice Verma Committee, fundamental duties go hand in hand with fundamental rights. In fact, the committee has suggested that apart from the youth, the older generation also need to be sensitized on this issue.

It is to be pointed out that the NSS programme requirements at IIT Kanpur (60 hours per student per year) falls well short of the Government of India guidelines which require 240 hours per student and spread over two years. For a scheme that is meant to be run primarily by the students, a two year programme is necessary to provide the much needed continuity. It will also reduce the enormous amount of time and effort that the faculty advisors have to invest now in training and motivating the students. To at least partially offset this major constraint, we are in the process of integrating the activities of the NSS with some of the voluntary organizations on campus that are doing a yeoman's service to society.

Our efforts in the last few months are beginning to yield results and the response of the students has been quite encouraging. We are confident that students who participate in the NSS programme will turn out to be not only technically competent but also socially responsible.

R. Ravi

(Faculty Coordinator, NSS)

Department of Chemical Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

Kanpur - 208016

e.mail: rravi@iitk.ac.in

[back] [next]