NSS (National Service Scheme) camps for engineering students will be mobile-free, and no activities will be conducted near water bodies. Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) has decided to take these steps after recent tragic incidents, where NSS students died while trying to take selfies near tanks and lakes. In all, nine NSS students have died in the past six years during these camps.
The recently issued circular directs its affiliated colleges to follow 11 safety measures before and during the camps.
While there is a ban on conducting camps near lakes, rivers, ponds, dams, and beaches, authorities have also stated that students should not be taken on hikes near water bodies. College managements have also been directed to inform the jurisdictional police station before conducting the camps.
The university swung into action after three pre-university students from a Tumakuru-based college drowned in October. While one slipped reportedly while taking a selfie, the other two drowned trying to save him. In 2015, three Bengaluru-based undergraduate students drowned in a lake at Harohalli in Ramanagaram district during an NSS camp.
The circular bans students from carrying mobile phones, which also means a ban on selfies. The ban on mobiles extends to teachers too. A VTU official said this was to ensure teachers have their attention on students all the time and are not distracted by their phones.
However, a principal of a city-based college said that banning mobile phones may not be a good idea. “Students will have to keep their parents posted on their whereabouts. If there is an emergency, the students and teachers will be unable to reach out for help,” he said.
All the students should also bring a written permission letter from their parents before attending the camp, as well as submit an undertaking that they are attending the camp out of their own free will, the circular states.
Students suffering from illnesses are also prohibited from attending these camps. Besides this, colleges have also been told that one woman coordinator must be deputed.
