Kerala Sets a New Benchmark: School NSS Activities Go Fully Digital

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala has once again shown how technology can transform governance and education. The Kerala Infrastructure & Technology for Education (KITE) has launched online portals to fully digitise National Service Scheme (NSS) activities in higher secondary and vocational higher secondary schools. Covering 1,529 units and nearly two lakh student volunteers, the 2025--26 academic year will be the first in which NSS management in schools is entirely online.

The new NSS Management System empowers Program Officers (POs) to schedule all activities directly, record attendance in real time, and evaluate unit projects, orientations, community camps, and individual initiatives online. Camp assessments and inter -district evaluations will also be conducted digitally, giving district and state authorities instant access to reliable data.

Manual record -keeping, including cash books, has been completely replaced with digital registers. This reduces the administrative load on POs, streamlines documentation, and allows comprehensive reports on volunteers and units to be generated and shared instantly. State -level statistics will be visible to all, ensuring transparency and accountability. KITE has also enabled schools to upload photos and videos of NSS activities to the School Wiki, making students’ contributions widely accessible.

This initiative builds on the success of the ‘Little KITES’ IT clubs, which have already been running fully online systems for 1.8 lakh students, covering everything from enrollment and attendance to camp management, financial reporting, grading, and certificate distribution. Public Education Minister V. Sivankutty had envisioned scaling this model, and now NSS units are part of this digital revolution.

To support smooth adoption, KITE has provided detailed video tutorials, step-by-step guides, and district-level training for all Program Officers, along with ongoing technical assistance.