Best Practices
Community Support Service (CSS)
Objective
The college started CSS to provide financial, health, hygiene and blood donation support to people in need, and to build empathy and a service mindset in students so that they become problem-solving community builders.
Context
The college partners with NGOs and institutions and runs donation drives – food, health and hygiene, blood donation, mental health and happiness programmes. Students take part through the NSS and the Youth Red Cross.
The Practice
- Blood Donation Drive with Bangalore Medical Services Trust (BMST), coordinated by the Youth Red Cross unit with the NSS unit – students, faculty and staff donated blood.
- AIKYAM outreach programme – on 21 January 2023 students visited Amrutha Shishu Nivasa orphanage and conducted games; the programme concluded on 11 February 2023.
- Support for transgender welfare – donation drive with the NGO Space for Dream to help build a training centre for transgender and other sexual minorities.
- Outreach with persons with disabilities – on 11 March 2023, with APD and Vakila Vahini, staff and students donated sanitary napkins, health products and snacks and performed for the children.
Evidence of Success
- The Social Awareness Club raised Rs. 13,700 from staff and students for Space for Dream, transferred on 25 May 2023.
- Students at APD benefited from hygiene products provided for the whole year.
Problems Encountered and Resources Required
- Getting donors to give regularly
- Competition among many causes for donor support
- Donors’ concern about financial burden
- Limited perceived value of community service
- Income and financial sustainability
- Balancing academics with community service
- Low student involvement
- Difficulty in reaching the community
Consumer Rights Awareness (CLARC)
Objective
The Consumer Law, Advocacy and Research Centre (CLARC) informs the public about consumer rights and government initiatives, offers legal advice, helps the government gather data on citizens’ needs and gives students field exposure – through research, field studies, publications, seminars and workshops.
Context
CLARC was established in 2019 with the support of the Consumer Rights, Education and Awareness Trust (CREAT). It focuses on the rights to information, choice and safety under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
The Practice
- Seminars and workshops by invited experts – a workshop on food safety legislation with KILPAR on 3 September 2022.
- Student research and surveys on consumer rights topics.
- Walkathons and surveys – students interact with shopkeepers and street vendors about their rights under the Street Vendors Act, 2014 and the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
Evidence of Success
- CREAT funded a front-of-pack labelling workshop, an oratory competition and a panel discussion on the Consumer Protection Act, 2019; KILPAR funded a food security workshop.
- Two LL.B. students surveyed school children in Bengaluru on junk food labelling and misleading advertisements.
- World Consumer Rights Day, 15 March 2023 – a walkathon and survey with CREAT and Youth for Seva drew about 100 participants who interacted with more than 100 consumers.
Problems Encountered and Resources Required
- Need for faculty with strong empirical research experience
- Need for practising advocates to guide students on procedure
- Difficulty in securing research funding
- Field research is time-consuming and hard to balance with academics
- Students lack data analysis expertise