Free NSS students from duty: KSU

SHILLONG: The Khasi Students Union (KSU) central executive council has written to the Deputy Director, Directorate of Higher and Technical Education to reconsider engaging NSS volunteers in emergency volunteering for COVID-19 pandemic.
In a letter to the Deputy Director, BD Cajee, the union expressed its appreciation to the state government on the steps taken by it to combat Covid-19 but asserted that engaging students for such a task is unsafe and risky.
The union maintained that the NSS volunteers are only students who are not trained to handle and tackle such a situation and the health of these students will be at threat and peril.
The union also said that most of the institutions are compelling the NSS students to volunteer for the COVID pandemic so that such institutions can take the credit and recognition later and as such the NSS students are not free to choose independently about the willingness to volunteer for such a task.
The union further said that there has been no definite task or guidelines laid down as to what NSS volunteers are supposed to do or engaged for and as such it is not at all considerate for the parents/guardians to render consent for their son/daughter/ward to be engaged for such a task to combat the pandemic.