National Institute of Open Schooling – India’s largest open school works towards providing the basic education needs of every student. Headquartered in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, the NIOS operates through a network of 15 regional centres, two sub-regional centres and over 3,700 study centres across India, Nepal and the Middle East, and employs 251 full-time staff. NIOS strives towards promoting universal education resulting in an integrated development of people. According to the Chairman of NIOS Board, Dr S.S. Jena, “NIOS is committed to serving the educationally deprived and excluded sections of the society for a sustainable, inclusive education”.
The significance of the institution lies in the fact that it serves the educational needs of school drop-outs and marginalised groups. It includes Scheduled Castes and Tribes (SCs and STs), rural youth, urban poor, girls, ex-servicemen and people with disabilities. It must be noted that NIOS is the only national-level Board under the Open Learning System and the secondary and senior secondary programmes offered here are equivalent to the grade 10 & 12 programmes of the CBSE Board and have the same status for admission to higher studies and employment. In fact, many students go on to study at conventional schools and colleges including the prestigious IITs. There is an instance of a student who after having passed out of NIOS completed a degree course in aeronautical engineering and is now pursuing higher studies at a prestigious university abroad.
Registration and Student Assessment
The NIOS Board has taken a significant step of providing the facility of online registration for admissions and examinations under the NIOS Online Programme. There are four streams of online admission catering to learners with their different needs. The National Institute of Open Schooling conducts examinations twice a year in April-May and October-November for the benefit of the learners who can avail as many as nine chances to appear in the examinations.
To introduce greater flexibility in the system, the NIOS has also introduced the On-Demand Examination System (ODES) at the secondary and senior secondary levels. These on-demand exams are conducted at the NIOS headquarters in Noida as well as its regional centres. The results are made available within 45 days on the NIOS website (www.nios.ac.in).
- Stream 1: It is open to all learners as per the laid down eligibility criteria for secondary and senior secondary level.
- Stream 2: This stream is open to all learners who had appeared but could not clear the Public Examination of Secondary and Senior Secondary levels from selected examination boards.
- Stream 3: It is open throughout the year for learners wanting to appear in On-Demand Examination System (ODES) of NIOS for secondary level.
- Stream 4: It is open throughout the year for learners wanting to appear in ODES of NIOS for the senior secondary level.
Special Initiatives of NIOS
The NIOS also caters to the educational needs of differently-abled learners, both physical and mental, through its Special Accredited Institutes for Education of the Disadvantaged (SAIEDs). Apart from choosing subjects for study and learning at one’s own pace, the learners are also given convenient locations for appearing in the exam. Overall, NIOS aims at promoting activity-based learning.
The National Institute of Open Schooling has been endeavouring to promote school education amongst minority communities by launching the HUNAR programme on skill training for girls, support through the SPEQM (Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madrasas) programmes of Government of India, organising advocacy and mass sensitisation programmes in various states and developing its study material in Urdu. The NIOS has been entrust with the task of providing an academic support system for assessment of neo-literates and offering courses for basic education and skill training under “Saakshar Bharat” programme of the Government of India.
Special Features of NIOS
- Imposes no maximum age limits, but expects learners to be 14 years and over.
- Choice of subjects – A learner can combine academic and vocational subjects.
- Every learner has five years of time and nine attempts to clear the examinations which help in reducing the psychological pressure on the students.
- Provision of On-Demand Examination System (ODES) at the secondary and senior secondary levels, conducted throughout the year.
- Facility of Transfer of Credits for CBSE and State Boards including State Open Schools.
- Part-admission is also available wherein a student can take admission in one or more subjects and on passing, will be issued only the statements of marks.
- Uses multi-media study materials, including audio and video to supplement the printed self-learning modules.
- Provides continuous assessment through Tutor Marked Assignments (TMAs).
- Provides learner support through study centres and Personal Contact Programmes (PCPs).
- Choice of subjects – A learner can combine academic and vocational subjects.
- Provides 24×7 Call Centre support and motivational and adolescent programme support.
