Three units of National Service Scheme were sanctioned to BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus, by the State Liaison Officer in March 2009. Currently there are 300 volunteers consisting of 174 male and 126 female students.
Dr. N Kishore Kumar is the Coordinator for NSS in Hyderabad Campus.
NSS is a noble experiment in academic expansion. It inculcates the spirit of voluntary work among the students and teachers through sustained community interactions. It brings academic institution closer to society. Over the years NSS has emerged as India's largest student youth movement in linking with the community
Since its inception, the NSS BPHC via its three units has been galvanizing student enthusiasm and commitment to society and channelling it into concrete programs targeting rural citizens, economically disadvantaged school children, orphans and medical patients among others.
The units have adopted three villages which are the main focus areas of most their social philanthropy. Volunteers take yearly surveys and petition governmental authorities about common grievances, improve physical condition of the schools, provide basic education in hygiene and personal finance, career guidance for youth and credit information of small farmers and business people.
A regular feature of the NSS-BPHC is its bi-annual blood donation drive in collaboration with the Society of the Red Cross- since inception over 1500 units of blood have been collected.
As part of our environmental awareness drive, over 7000 saplings have been planted with almost an 80% survival rate. Students have each year conducted programmes on campus and in neighbouring villages on World Environment Day, Earth Hour and World Water Day, using information and compassion to effect positive environmental change. Student volunteers also reach out to 35 schools during the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations, teaching school students how to make idols out of clay and using the occasion to generate consciousness surrounding everyday ways in which environmentally positive habits can be inculcated. Regular drives ensuring safe disposal of waste are also conducted.
On Deepavali, in coordination with Nirmaan, every year volunteers train unemployed women from the surrounding villages in candle making and help market the candles in order to instil self- confidence in the women about their entrepreneurial potential. The NSS also works closely with the Entrepreneurship Cell of BPHC in order to effectively sustain small economic initiative is the villages adopted.
Over 137 NSS volunteers are now part of the Be A Mentor program, that has helped create a resource base for young adults to form a support structure for other peers in helping them meeting life’s challenges, academically, socially and spiritually.
NSS volunteers have also initiated a drive to make students and faculty more connected with the day to day running of politics and government. Distinguished speakers have begun the debate and students, in coordination with the Election Commissioner’s office have begun the process of registering all members of the BITS family as voters.
The NSS study oriented projects enable students to engage academically with issues of social philanthropy. The most recent project, on Orphanages in the Twin Cities, completed under the guidance of Dr Jalaiah, has resulted in useful information and workable solutions. The students have submitted a report and are in the process of further publicizing it and circulating it to relevant authorities.
Currently students are working on a survey on political and social awareness and implementation of government programmes in the adopted villlages
As part of Prathiba, in coordination with YUVA, NSS volunteers have over the last three years visited various orphanages in the city spending time playing with the children, educating them on basic issues of personal health and hygiene, the importance of education and environmental awareness. Students also helped the orphanage administration by volunteering man hours. Prior to the program, students had collected donations in order to provide the young orphans with basic stationary and school going supplies.
As part of the pre-winter Sahara initiative, NSS volunteers go door to door in hostels and to faculty housing collecting extra clothing, blankets, books and stationary, resulting in contributions that were able to touch the lives of hundreds of street children and their parents, keeping them warm this winter.
As part of the IGNITE initiative in coordination with Nirman, volunteers provide disadvantaged students with advice, education and small experiences of joy over a three-day period.
The NSS faculty coordinators have been designing an “Effective Leadership Program” for NSS volunteers, in order to inculcate the fundamentals of effective and ethical leadership among students. The program focuses on public speaking skills, leadership trait development, group dynamic effectualization, professional ethics, social responsibility and entrepreneurial attitude development. The program shall be available to batches of 30 NSS volunteers repeatedly throughout the next semester.
An Institute of Eminence
