National Service Scheme

History of NSS

The National Service Scheme (NSS) is a Central Sector Scheme of Government of India, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports. It provides opportunity to the young students of 11th & 12th Class at Higher Secondary or equivalent level and students undergoing Graduate & Post Graduate Courses in Technical Institutions or at College & University level of India to take part in various government led community service activities & programmes. The National Service Scheme is an Indian government sector public service program conducted by the Government of India. On 24th September 1969, the Union Education Minister Sri. V. K. R.V. Rao launched the NSS at 37 universities in Several States of India. Since the inception of NSS in 1969, students' enrollment in it increased from 40,000 to over 3.8 million. The sole aim of the NSS is to provide hands-on experience to young students in delivering community service without any prejudice. All the youth volunteers who opt to serve the nation through the NSS led community service wear the NSS badge with pride and a sense of responsibility towards helping the needy and the helpless. There are mainly 2 types of activities - Regular and Annual Special Camps. Volunteers may be involved in activities such as campus cleaning, afforestation, awareness rallies, health camps, community survey and much more. Some institutions are also involved in regular blood donation and traffic control activities. In its structure and objective, the NSS resembles the Bharat Scouts and Guides National Cadet Corps (NCC).

The NSS Unit I of Gokhale Memorial Girls' College was formed in 2015 by the permission of the University of Calcutta (Ref. NSS/PVC/45/14 dated. 18/12/2014). The First Programme Officer of NSS Unit I of GMGC was Dr. Goutam Mahata.

The First Advisory Committee was comprised of the following members:

1. Chairperson: Dr. Atashi Karpha (Principal)
2. Dr. Kuldip Kaur (Associate Professor, Member of Social Outreach Committee, GMGC)
3. Sm. Sarama Das (Associate Professor, Librarian, Member of Blood Donation Committee GMGC)
4. Dr. Sarthak Roy Chowdhury (Assistant Professor, Coordinator of N.S.S Committee, GMGC)
5. Dr. Reshmi Panda Mukherjee (Assistant Professor, Member of Development Committee, GMGC)
6. Ms. Archana Singh (N.S.S. - Student Leader I)
7. Ms. Rohini Bhowmick (N.S.S. - Student Leader II) &
8. Dr. Gautam Mahata (Assistant Professor, Programme Officer, N.S.S., GMGC)

Present Composition of the NSS Unit I of GMGC

Members of Core Committee of NSS Unit I (2022-23)

1. Dr. Atashi Karpha (Principal, GMGC)
2. Dr. Goutam Mahata (Assistant Professor, Dept. of Chemistry)
3. Dr. Sarama Das (Librarian, GMGC)
4. Dr. Lalita Agrawal (Associate Professor, Dept. of Philosophy)
5. Sri. Prasanta Kumar Pal (Programme Officer; Assistant Professor, Dept. of History)
6. Dr. Palashi Biswas (Assistant Professor, Dept. of Hindi)
7. Sri Sudipta Mandal (Assistant Professor, Dept. of History)
8. Sri. Sharadwat Manna (SACT I, Dept. of Bengali)

Student Volunteers for Core Group/ Group Leaders:

1. Samadrita Dutta.
2. Suchetana Sengupta
3. Payel Thakur
4. Ahana Das
5. Yamini
6. Priyanka Kangoo
    

Vision and Mission

The Motto of NSS "Not Me But You", reflects the essence of democratic living and upholds the need for self-less service. NSS helps in the student's development & appreciation to other person's point of view and also show consideration towards other living beings. The philosophy of the NSS is a good doctrine in this motto, which underlines on the belief that the welfare of an individual is ultimately dependent on the welfare of the society as a whole and therefore, the NSS volunteers shall strive for the well-being of the society.

The main objectives of National Service Scheme (NSS) are:

1. To understand the socio-cultural texture of the community in which the volunteers work.
2. To understand themselves in relation to their respective communities.
3. To identify the needs and problems of the community.
4. To develop among themselves a sense of social and civic accountability.
5. To find practical solutions to community problems.
6. To develop competence required for communal living and sharing of responsibilities.
7. To acquire leadership qualities and democratic attitude.
8. To develop capacity to meet national level emergencies and natural disasters.

Prospects

National Service Scheme (NSS) is beneficial to both students as well as society in various different ways. NSS helps the students grow individually and also as a responsible member of various social groups. Through involvement in the NSS Activities, the students become confident, develop leadership skills, and gain knowledge about different people from different walks of life. Students also acquire different skills that help them lead better life in various situations.

Career prospects for experienced NSS Volunteers include the opportunity to work as Programme Advisors/Deputy Advisors in NSS under the Department of Youth Affairs & Sports, and as advisors in different national and international level NGOs. Experience in NSS activities is also a desirable qualification for various govt. jobs including police and administrative service.

Achievements

During the COVID 19 Pandemic, the NSS Unit I of Gokhale Memorial Girl's College took the initiative of helping people find medical and other assistance (Blood/Plasma, Oxygen Cylinder, Hospital Contacts, Food) on urgent basis using social media platform. A group called GMGC HELPLINE was created on WhatsApp on 5th May 2021 and currently that group contains both NSS Volunteers and other students from various departments, Ex-Students of the Institution, Faculty Members and Non-Teaching Staff, summing up to around 100 active members. From May 5, 2021 to July 22, 2021, GMGC Helpline remained open 24/7. More than 200 cases had been solved by the Helpline team during this period.

The volunteers were organized and divided into front desk members and back-end verifiers. The front desk members contacted the families of the patients directly before handling any case and the back-end verifiers continuously verified contacts before providing any lead to the patient family. Only verified information/leads were provided to those who sought assistance. The volunteers made sure that there was no misuse of information. Front desk members communicated with the families of the patients with their empathetic yet practical approach.

Everything was done strictly within the boundaries of the government protocols. The sole motive of this initiative was to help people out in that time of dire necessity, crisis and affliction by creating a sustainable network of valuable information. The organization and maintenance of information were the key priorities of GMGC HELPLINE.

Activities

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