National Service Scheme (NSS) an Extension Education: Bridging Campus&Community- Emerging Trends in NSS with Special Reference to Tamil Nadu

The NSS was started in 1969 during the Mahatma Gandhi birth year with a purpose to link the higher education campuses with local communities. The NSS added strength to the new extension dimension of education. The overall aim of National Service Scheme is to give orient the student youth to community service while they are studying in educational institution. As per the University Grand Commissions three dimensional higher education system (Three Dimensions 1. Teaching, 2. Research 3. Extension) the NSS a vibrant youth activity comes under the third dimension of Extension. (i. e Community service). In the 48 years (1969-2017) of glorious service to the student community the NSS in Tamil Nadu has grown constructively and progressively both in quality and quantity from the student coverage 3600 in 1969 to 1, 82, 800 in 2017. Without change there is no innovation, creativity or incentive for improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable. Any programme which is not subject change and updation will be gradually faded and it becomes obsolete. The NSS in 48 years of existence (1969 to 2017) has seen constructive changes and developments and updated the programmes as per the students attitude and interest. In this paper, the researcher made an attempt to analyze the emerging trends in National Service Scheme programmes.