Bhubaneswar: The Higher Education Department has asked colleges with NSS units to mobilise volunteers for anthropometric assessments of children at Anganwadi centres under the SUPOSHIT Odisha Mission.
In a letter to principals of shortlisted colleges, Director of Higher Education Kali Prasanna Mohapatra said the mission aims to achieve sustained reduction in malnutrition and make all Anganwadi Centres malnutrition-free by 2029. The target is to eliminate Severe Acute Malnutrition, Moderate Acute Malnutrition and Severely Underweight cases among children aged 0 to 6 years.
As part of the mission, periodic height and weight assessments of children at eligible Anganwadi Centres will be undertaken for validation of nutritional status and timely intervention.
The exercise will be conducted under the Women and Child Development Department with support from the Department of Higher Education.
Shortlisted colleges have been requested to mobilise NSS volunteers as field enumerators through their NSS units. Priority will be given to women volunteers for the survey. Only second-year or third-year Plus-3 students and second-year PG female NSS volunteers are eligible to participate. Volunteers will be deployed in teams of two and must have a smartphone.
Each volunteer will receive Rs 500 per Anganwadi Centre for valid assessment. Colleges will get Rs 500 for arranging travel plans. Programme Officers will receive Rs 4,000 for monitoring and supervision. District Nodal Officers will get Rs 8,000 for coordinating and supervising in their respective districts.
The survey will commence from July 20, 2026. Detailed programmes will be intimated later. Selected volunteers will be oriented virtually before undertaking the survey. NSS Programme Officers will coordinate mobilisation, training, travel and field activities with support from NSS District Nodal Officers and the SUPOSHIT Odisha Mission State Team.
Colleges have been asked to submit details of interested female NSS volunteers in MS Excel format to the W&CD Department through email by July 9.
