The District-level Performance Assessment Committee (PAC) will start visiting higher secondary schools in the district on Tuesday.
This is part of the State-wide Performance Assessment Programme (PAP) to evaluate National Service Scheme (NSS) activities in over 400 higher secondary schools in the State.
The PAP started on February 2 and would conclude by 15th of the month. The pre-evaluation meeting for Thiruvananthapuram was held on Monday.
The PAC, nominated by the NSS Director and chaired by the NSS district convener, had three or four experts who would interact with the volunteers and the school authorities. They would prepare a report to be submitted to the Director. (Students who take part in NSS activities would get grace marks which could be added to the examination marks. A student would get two per cent grace marks for general volunteering, 3 per cent for attending national camps, and 5 per cent for attending Republic Day Parade).
“It is necessary to allot sufficient time to evaluate the works of the students, avoiding any loopholes for misjudgement which would deny them their grace marks. Also, we need sufficient time to assess the individual performance which is obtained through the orientation programmes conducted by each unit,” according to E.G. Raju, Programme Co-ordinator, NSS, Higher Secondary Education.
While the quality of individual performance evaluation is questionable as there are no standardised tests, the process can bring out an effective picture of the physical changes and impacts of the programme on a collective basis, sources said.
The performance data from special camps, community services in healthcare, unique activities conducted by individual units, and participation in environmental protection programmes would be scrutinised by the committee to assess the status of each unit.
This report would be used in formulating long-term projects. A special visit to counter-check the PAC assessment would be carried out by Regional Programme Conveners to ensure accuracy.
The performance assessment was important to determine areas where refinement of activities and role shift would be necessary from the organisation and the students. Children would be encouraged to improve the spirit of volunteering to contribute to society, Mr. Raju said.
