The National Education System Plan, launched in 1971, made a widespread endeavour among the people for change in education in Nepal. One of its vital features was the introduction of the National Development Service (NDS) program, through Tribhuvan University, introduced in the rural areas involving students with the grassroots level people from 1974. All degree (post-graduate) level students were required to render service for one year, i.e., to work full time in village development activities. The program was an integral part of the academic curriculum at the degree level, conducted for six years with two small voluntary Pilot Projects in 1973.
Project Plan National Development Service (NDS) was a special education scheme devised to suit the needs of Nepal, and played a vital role in the development activities at the grassroots level of the country. Ninety percent of the country’s total population lived in rural areas in 1970s and its development depended solely on the development of these rural areas, which witnessed a very low rate of development growth in every sector such as health, education, transport, industry, forestry, agriculture etc. The rural literate persons were also attracted to modern facilities and amenities available in the urban areas and hence tended to migrate there rather than stay behind to develop their own areas. To add to that, as a result of major drawbacks in the old system of education, policymakers in Kathmandu had neither adequate idea of the conditions prevailing in the rural areas nor did they visit those places to derive first-hand knowledge of the situation there. In view of the problems of the prevailing educational system, the National Education System Plan as one of its objectives had supply of trained man-power fornational development with priority to be given, among others, to the promotion of active students’ participation in nation building. To achieve that purpose, the idea of the National Development Service scheme was conceived and the National Education System Plan specifically stated that: “A National Development Services Corps will be instituted in order that higher education may not be equated with theoretical and bookish knowledge alone and also to provide students for service in national development while engaged in studies.” The Establishment of National Development Service “Under the National Development Service (NDS) scheme a student passing the first year of the diploma course (equivalent to the Bachelor’s degree) or the first year of the degree course (equivalent to the Master’s degree) will be required to go and erve for a year in a place where he is deputed. At the outset, such service will be compulsory for those who complete the first year of the degree course only. Later, it will be made compulsory for those passing the first year of the diploma course as well. The development service shall be an integral part of University education and certificates of having passed the diploma or degree coursem were awarded only after the required service under this program. Foreign diploma or degree-holders will be barred from pursuing further studies or taking up employment in Nepal until they fulfil this service requirement.” The students of the various corps were, moreover, to be deputed to different rural areas for a period of one year. But throughout the period of active functioning of the program it saw only one corps (Education Service Corps) functioning. Youth Problems, Policies, and the Project Involving all the degree level students who formed a major part of the choices youth population in the country, the project was explicitly related to the specific youth problems and youth policy of the country. At that time as elsewhere in the world, youths in Nepal were confused about their role in society. In the context of the outside influences and in the absence of proper guidance, they could be drawn to activities that may not have served the best interests of their academic or social needs. They could therefore be engaged in services of their interest to get direct and immediate results in the form of credit or self-satisfaction, or in studies, which would, through their practical involvement in community services, prepare them before the end of their academic career to face the realities of life. Furthermore, in the prevailing context of the lack of trained manpower, the services of the energetic youth community, if properly channelled, could go a long way in boosting the overall development of the country. The NDS had successfully harnessed the youth force to the process of rural development and therefore to national development. The NDS scheme was essentially thus a youth program.
However, the community services alone were not enough to tackle the problems of youth nor did they alone give out the directives of youth policy. They were the part of the overall national program that was designed to mobilise humanresource of the country towards development. As a part of higher education, the NDS scheme aimed to bring about change in the attitudes, outlook, and skills of the educated youth. With man as the prime agent of development, the place of development could be improved in so far as the state was able to motivate the people to make a fuller utilisation of physical resources. Unless the people developed attitudes and skills, the process of development would not be self-sustaining, and lack of modernization ideas could well handicap the healthy growth of country. Viewed in that perspective, the NDS was a scheme that acquainted the youth with the realities of life clarifying the role to play in future in the context of national development. Thus it was a good example of volunteerism in Nepal. As Director of the NDS Program, this author felt that although it was a compulsory program, the students once placed in the areas assigned exhibited their volunteerism so well that the villagers still remember their contributions.
Project Outline
Aim and Objectives: The NDS program was designed to expose the educated youth not only to the rural life but also to serve as change agents in the development activities of the country. The main philosophy behind the program was that higher education should not be equated with theoretical bookish knowledge, and that students should be provided with an opportunity and scope for service in national development while engaged in studies. The NDS scheme, therefore, was a study service program similar to that of study service schemes operating in several developing countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, Ethiopia etc. at that time. Launched in 1973, the NDS program had four main objectives:
1. To make education broader in its outlook, more practical, and attuned to the
development needs of the country;
2. To encourage students to assist in rural development activities;
3. To give students an opportunity to interact with the various groups of people
who make up the population of the country; and
4. To give students practical experience in development works.
Before the introduction of the National Education System Plan, students got their Master’s degree after attending class and reading a prescribed range of books. Practical knowledge was lacking. To fulfil that need, students were assigned to a certain village community to carry out development work besides their classroom learning. The objective, therefore, was to see that the students, backed by theoretical lessons, were supplemented by practical knowledge in the villages and would come back more mature in thinking and prepared to face challenges in their life afterwards.
Exposure of the students to the realities of the country was expected to be of great value to the future leaders and policymakers of the country. Theoretical knowledge alone, however high in quality, is incomplete. An individual with a high level of theoretical knowledge may have a good standing in the society, but in practical life he may fare badly. One must be therefore well acquainted with the realities of the country besides acquiring theoretical knowledge. NDS Program was designed to see that students return after completion of the study service for a year with a greater sense of responsibility, resourcefulness, initiative, self-reliance, and self-confidence in them to face life’s challenges.
The program as a whole was thus designed to bridge the gap standing between the urban and the rural areas. Besides bringing about certain changes in higher education, it also tried to accelerate rural development activities. Students were sent out not merely as teachers, but also as change agents in the fields of health, construction, agriculture, forestry, and social services in the villages. Organisational Structure: In order to properly operate services of such high value, a separate administrative wing called NDS Directorate was established in
1972.
NDS Directorate was placed under the Rector’s Office of the Tribhuvan University headed by a Director. The NDS committee, of which the Rector was the Chairman, consisted of five Deans, and one representative each from the Ministries of Education, Home, and Panchayat and assisted in formulating the NDS Program and coordinated activities at the University. The Director of NDS acted as a member-Secretary of the committee. This NDS Directorate had no field office. The Directorate directly through supervisors carried out supervision and spot-checks from the centre. In the Directorate, nine units worked under the Director:
1.Planning, 2.Research,3.Documentation,4. Evaluation, 5. Publication and Public Relations, 6. Supervision, 7. Training, 8. Administration, and 9. Accounts and Store.
Supervision, one of the most important units of the whole organisation,
controlled and supervised the NDS students’ activities in the field and helped them
carry on the program successfully. It had kept an eye upon the operation of the
program ensuring that its objectives were fulfilled. There were altogether four
sections within the unit: a. Far Western Region b. Western Region c. Central Region d. Eastern Region Each region was controlled by an officer in-charge. The work of the supervisor of these units was to visit the field where NDS students were working and observe their activities in education, health, construction, and agriculture. In their field visits, they met the Pradhan Panch (village head), headmaster, teachers, students and other local people enquiring about the performances of the NDS volunteer. Where there were administrative heads like the CDO or an education head DEO, they met them,and if possible, also the Zonal Commissioner and acquainted them all with the NDS
concept and various activities. They also acted as guardians of the NDS students, gave them advice where necessary and appreciated their good works to encourage them. After supervision, a report would follow evaluating the participants based on observation of the participants’ performances. The supervisor also wrote corres – ponds letters to the students. Before heading for the villages, NDS students were required to undergo a
training course of about five weeks organised by the NDS Directorate. Theoretical and practical training in various skills was given to participants to help them solve the problems they might face in the villages. Besides such training, NDS students acquired first-hand knowledge of the conditions and problems in the village where
they were to stay and work for ten months. On the other hand, the participants also had opportunities to exchange ideas and suggestions with the expert on health, education, construction works, agriculture, forests, scouting as well as physical training. The short period of training aimed at enabling the participants to teach in the class acquainted the villagers with the importance of forest conservation and also enabled them to give suggestions on agriculture and on simple construction works. At the same time, it put its emphasis upon improving health conditions in the village by playing an active role in the work of public health, i.e., family planning, sanitation etc. After the completion of the training students were assigned in the districts to work for ten months. They were sent to the concerned districts and placed in schools under the headmaster. The District Education Officer (DEO) acted as their guardians and their placement to the villages was done through the DEO. The Ministry of Education was quite cooperative by making suggestions to the Directorate for placement of students. Instructions were given to the DEO relating to NDS students as also suggestions necessary to the Directorate. Finance: The financing facilities of the programme were provided through the University budget. Whereas the government financed the program, UNICEF assisted substan-tially by providing vehicles, logistics, medicine, seeds, stationery, and by funding an advisor to the NDS. UNESCO too, extended a financial help of $ 2,000 for the adult literacy drive.
In addition, the NDS office received $ 6,000 to publish eight prepared best village profiles by the NDS participants (1977-78). Response of Youth to the Project: When the NDS program’s pilot project started in 1973 with very few voluntary participants (just 22), the response hardly looked positive. The project was regarded as a waste of time and a temporary solution of the problem of unemployed youth. The participants who volunteered for the scheme were laughed at. Some even put the blame on them for being responsible for making obligatory at the degree level. However, those same pilot project participants now occupy good official positions and some even became senior staff of the NDS Directorate.
The program was fully launched in mid-1974 with the start of the new academic year and was made an integral part of the degree course. The students who wished to complete Master’s level course had to complete the NDS or forget the Degree. After completing two semesters, they had to go and work in the villages for 10 months.
Reaction from the students to the program was not very favourable in the
beginning. In protest, they “gheraoed” (Organising sit-ins to immobilise office work until concessions came), the Prime Minister, the Vice-Chancellor, and the NDS Director. The concerned authorities were naturally upset and the opposition became
an issue between the Government and its critics for some time. The protest was based on the grounds that the long field stay would interfere with studies and the academic calendar. All these protests were there because people were hardly familiar with the kind of domestic development service or study -service. The idea of involving students in the NDS was a very good plan for the nation’s development. But when assigned to rural areas, they often hesitated to face the challenge mainly due to lack of self-confidence. The parents of girls were also found far from willing to send their daughters to the villages. Once the students were convinced, however, the programme moved ahead with full steam. Participants came back more mature, confident, resourceful, and with knowledge about rural areas.
From 1975 onwards, the idea of the program was well accepted. After completion of the program, students themselves started convincing their friends about its utility and benefits. At the time of the close-up of the program, the young participants were working in seventy-one districts out of the seventy-five total. The program achieved great success due to the dedication of youths who were very enthusiastic in doing something for the development of their country. It was specially welcomed by the younger generations. Even the students of diploma-level were curious about it. The NDS office welcomed suggestions from participants and took care to help them. In view of the remote areas and the practical problems involved, the Directorate increased the maintenance allowance from Rs. 300.00 to 450.00 in 1978. The program partly due to the huge publicity and popularity, gained a positive
effect on students. The ex-participants, too, played their role. They came back changed, more resourceful in thinking, and more confident, and able to face challenges in life. They often talked about their exciting experiences to the future NDS participants.
Thus the students brought a great deal of attitudinal change. If they had opposed the program in the beginning, they started welcoming it. Some of these same NDS participants are today our ministers, secretaries, and decision-makers who speak very highly about the program. The program has also earned credibility among the elites and common mass through the students’ devotion and dedication.
In fact, the program became popular and a matter of profound interest from very remote areas to the capital. The Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and many other countries took interest in it, and the late Mrs. Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, and Mr. Zia ur Rehman, President of Bangaladesh, sent University professors to collect first-hand information on the program. Overall Evaluation The impact made on the rural life by the participants was very positive. Their work as generalists made them successful in many aspects of village development. As these youths went to the villages, villagers expected a great deal from them and thought they had knowledge in every field. As a result, they were consulted on all sorts of problems. The students, who had received training as generalists, and were helpful in sorting out and solving most of their problems were often addressed respectfully as Doctor Babu (respectable doctor), Bikase Master (one who is a master of development work), J.T.A. Babu (Junior Technical Assistant), Master Saheb (respected teacher), Dai (elder brother), Didi (elder sister), etc. Students accepted the program as an integral part of their education at the degree level and the University also accepted it as an integral part of community services.
In 1978, when the NDS program was in its sixth year, the number of students involved was 2178 (boys 1729, girls 458). In 1979 about 800 students were
assigned. Each year the villagers’ demand for NDS participants increased.
The everrising credit of the program had also increased the responsibility of both the students and the Directorate. The fact that His Majesty the King used to give audience to the NDS students during his visits greatly boosted the morale of students in the field. The royal directive (which said: “we see the problems of development stemming from shortage of technical human power persisting in the country. The students under the National Development Service are doing a fine job and the indications are there that the National Development Service students can considerably meet the shortage of technical human power. An emphasis should be laid on the National Development Service. We are trying to mobilise the students to meet manpower requirements of the country just as we are trying to dam the river to produce power,”) became a guideline to the program. The NDS Directorate did its best to
train students to meet the technical manpower for the rural areas. The program was, in essence, a two-way traffic: the grassroots people who had remained ignored got the benefits from highly educated youth and the urban-based youths got rich experiences of rural life after their exposure to the realities of the country. Such experience would be of great help to their future career. The program was more effective where participants were placed continuously for more than two years. Where there was no follow-up, however, it was less so. A fact also realised by the late King during his field visits and therefore he instructed the NDS Directorate to assign students in the villages for two to four years continuously. Students as change agents were found more effective in the remote areas compared to the semi-urban or urban ones. This was due to the rural-based orientation students received in their training. The Directorate, too, did its best to encourage students to get results from the less remote areas. The girl students were as active as the boys. Besides the assigned job, they achieved, remarkable success in mobilising and motivating the illiterate females. They opened their eyes towards family welfare activities. The villages thus became aware of the needs for such educated female participants.In terms of cost-benefit, the nation received four times more than the input made, going by analysis done by the author. The NDS Directorate had worked out a cost-benefit analysis of the district of Bajhang of the Far Western Region where the
total amount spent for the group of students (14) from 1976-77 was about Rs. 100,000.00 and the return Rs. 411,000.00. The attitudinal change in the students and among the rural people, however, could not be estimated.
The NDS program was a challenge not only to the students but also to many other sectors. Villagers found the students to be a great asset in making them aware of the needs, of their role in the nation building task and started thinking about clean drinking water, better agricultural seeds, better school buildings, better teachers, libraries, and so on. All this was a positive outcome of the program. As the program
made progress, the impact could be seen in other parts of the country. The NDS
office maintained proper coordination with the concerned departments of HMG,
which cooperated well enough.
However, the NDS students were often a nuisance to the local leaders who
benefited from the mass ignorance. The conservative Panchayat politicians were
opposed to the program and blamed the students for the 1979 movement of Nepal.
Therefore, after referendum the program was discontinued.
The NDS provided the teachers of the University considerable information
through village profiles, which the participants produced. These profiles were useful
for social workers, research scholars, government authorities, and others. The
program thus played the role of a harbinger between the rural and the urban areas
with its positive impact on Nepal’s rural life. It paved the way for rapid development
of the nation and became an ideal instance of model volunteerism in Nepal.
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT VOLUNTEER SERVICE : Public Sector Initiative in Volunteerism in Nepal
by Vinod K. Shrestha, Ph.D. and Pradip P. Upadhyay*, Ph.D.
Background
One major constraint of development in rural Nepal has been the shortage of
technical manpower and dedicated social workers. Since the efforts made by line
ministries to bridge the gap of manpower shortage in remote regions have yet to
show effective results, it has been realized that by mobilizing the youths as
volunteers it could provide an instant relief to the districts. Hence, the National
Development Volunteers Service (NDVS) has been established by National
Planning Commission (NPC) to support the poverty alleviation efforts of the
government by assisting local institutions in the areas of infrastructure development,
income generating activities, education, agriculture, health and sanitation etc.
Keeping in view the benefits gained from the mobilization of young volunteers
by NPC Secretariat to special area development districts (high mountain districts) in
twenty out of such twenty-five districts in FY 1998/99, the program has been pushed
forward through the institutional arrangement of National Development Volunteer
Service in March 2000. NDVS is to meet the short -term need of manpower in the
remote districts.
Past Efforts Promotion of Volunteerism through public sector support was first initiated in early 1970s. National Development Service (NDS), launched as a part of Tribhuvan University curriculum for Masters level program with budgetary support from the government, was implemented between 1973 and 1979 under which hundreds of students were sent to various districts to serve as community workers. This program is still remembered as a very successful program in meeting the shortage of school teachers and other types of manpower in the most remote districts of this country. Other national volunteer organizations like Paropakar, Nepal Red Cross, Maiti Nepal, Samuhik Abhiyan etc. and a host of local non-government organizations based in districts have been mobilizing volunteers in this country for short term as well as long term assignments. The contribution of international Volunteer Sending Agencies (VSAs) in the socio-economic development of Nepal is a remarkable one. Since the beginning of the 60s till now the international VSAs have been mobilizing hundreds of volunteers from their respective countries to work in Nepal, especially in the fields of education, health, agriculture, forestry, environment etc. International volunteers mobilized by VSAs like Peace Corps (US), VSO (UK), United Mission to Nepal, UN Volunteers, JOCV (Japan), DED (Germany), MS-Nepal (Denmark), LWF-Nepal (Switzerland), and Student Partnership Worldwide (UK based) have been providing great services to the development of rural Nepal. NDVS Objectives
NDVS has been established to achieve the following objective
· To revive the spirit of volunteerism in Nepal to draw people from different
occupations to it.
· To promote the sense of volunteerism among the public in Nepal in cooperationwith local as well as international VSAs.
· To provide instant relief to the remote districts regarding the shortage of manpower.
· To encourage young volunteers with appropriate education and skill
committed to work with self-less motive to go to remote and backward districts with the motto of serving the local people.
· To provide an opportunity to the fresh graduates to obtain field level experiences –including the living conditions of rural Nepal.
· To persuade the experienced and retired senior persons to contribute as a
volunteer to the development of rural people of Nepal.
· To inform and encourage skilled professional Nepalese residing abroad and
foreign citizens willing to work in Nepal about the potential of being a volunteer worker in rural areas of this country and also to act as a facilitator
in this endeavor.
· To initiate inter-country exchange of volunteers with the objective of
sharing skill, technology, and experiences – especially among the SAARC
nations. The specific duties of the Volunteers mobilized under the NDVS program have been defined as follows:
· To get involved in rural development activities in the true spirit of volunteerism.
· To provide appropriate suggestion and assistance to utilize locally available resources.
· To assist in the operation and expansion of the development programs having direct impact on the education, health, agriculture, income generating activities, and skill of the rural people.
· To assist local organizations and groups in the implementation of development activities and awareness activities.
· To establish coordination with district-based agencies while carrying out the assignment.
· To encourage and facilitate local people in the formation of community based
organizations (CBOs) and users’ groups to carry out local level development activities.
· To assist CBOs and users’ groups in providing technical and other types of assistance.
· To act as a link between district agencies and NDVS and to carry out other assignments given by DDC. Volunteers are mobilized for short-term (up to six months), medium-term (up to one year), and long-term (up to two years) assignments.
Future Program
· Volunteer Mobilization: Efforts will be made to mobilize 300 to 400
volunteers annually.
· Community Focused Program: Mobilize volunteers in the poverty pockets of different regions of the country to uplift the living conditions of the backward, destitute, and under-privileged communities.
· Establish an Information and Promotion Center: Volunteer Information and Promotion Center will be established within NDVS.
· Establish Partnership with Technical Institutes: Relationship will be established with medical, engineering, and agriculture institutes to mobilize the intern students as volunteers.
· Promotion of Volunteerism: Volunteerism awareness programs in schools and campuses for youths, and in the district headquarters for the adults will be carried out.
· Turn NDVS into an Autonomous Body: The ongoing process of converting NDVS into an autonomous organization will be expedited.
Institutional Arrangement
At present, NDVS is under the direct administrative system of National Planning
Commission Secretariat. A high level Steering Committee having representation
from the NPC, relevant ministries, and private sector agencies has been formed to
provide policy directives as also an Executive Committee to provide functional
guide-lines to NDVS. Both the Committees are chaired by the Vice-Chairman of
NPC. The budgetary support for this program comes from HMG/N.
Effectiveness of the Program More than 500 volunteers have already been mobilized under the NDVS program in 42 districts. Most of them are fresh graduates and include professionals like: engineers, overseers, agriculturists, solar energy experts, health workers, population experts, planning associates, teachers, herbal plant experts etc. In most of the districts where the program has been implemented, the utilization
of volunteers has been found quite satisfactory. Although, at the beginning, some
confusion prevailed about this program, the DDCs later on, found it quite beneficial.
Recently, the demand for the number of volunteers from the DDCs has been
growing. It is a matter of satisfaction to NDVS that the utilization of the volunteers
is growing with the dispatch of subsequent batches of volunteers as the DDC officials have been stepping up their monitoring activities. The number of volunteers
allocated to a district for the coming year depends on the evaluation of the utilization.
by Prof. Tulsi R. Vaidya, Ph.D.