CHENNAI: The union government’s fund allocation for the National Service Scheme (NSS) units in Tamil Nadu government schools has been sketchy for the last two years, as only a few schools have got just a partial amount for regular activities and special camping programmes. There are around 1,950 NSS units across the state.
According to district coordinators, the Centre provides 100% grants for implementing NSS activities. The union government increased the fund provided to schools for each NSS unit to Rs 36,000 for regular activities and Rs 35,000 for special camps in 2022-23. But none of the schools have received the enhanced amount in full.
“Last year, the schools that were linked to the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) received partial funding of Rs 20,000, which is insufficient to run NSS effectively,” said a government school teacher. For example, only 38 out of 105 units received funds in Kanniyakumari district last year.
NSS plays a crucial role in government and aided schools by offering students the opportunity to engage in extracurricular activities while fostering a mindset of service to the community.
NSS camps, usually held during quarterly holidays, involve students staying in schools for about a week and participating in awareness programmes on topics such as road safety, anti-drug campaigns, and environmental protection. Due to the lack of funds, schools often divert resources from other sources like the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) or rely on teachers to cover expenses out of their own pockets, some teachers said.
The stakeholders urged the Centre to release the pending funds before the next set of camps expected to be held in October. They also called on the school education department to ensure that all schools are linked to the PFMS portal to get full sanctioning of funds.
“We just disburse the funds received from the central government to schools. We expect the pending funds to be released ahead of this year’s camps,” a school education department official said.