NIOS : The Way Forward - The National Institute of Open Schooling
NIOS : The Way Forward - The National Institute of Open Schooling
NIOS : The Way Forward - The National Institute of Open Schooling
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<strong>NIOS</strong>: <strong>The</strong> <strong>Way</strong> <strong>Forward</strong> / 15<br />
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Rural People and Urban Poor<br />
Unemployed and part employed, seeking jobs or better jobs<br />
<strong>The</strong> older than the younger, from 35 years down, in the age bracket <strong>of</strong><br />
15-35<br />
<strong>The</strong> challenging Mission generated a good deal <strong>of</strong> passion among the staff,<br />
as it strove to reach the unreached and the unserved in far away places. <strong>The</strong><br />
motto set was: “Yeh Rista na tootte”<br />
2.4 Characteristics <strong>of</strong> <strong>National</strong> <strong>Open</strong> School<br />
<strong>The</strong> detailed description <strong>of</strong> the characteristics and flexibilities <strong>of</strong> the ODLS<br />
was carefully followed by the NOS. To briefly identify these:<br />
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<strong>Open</strong> entry –admission to the foundation course and to the secondary<br />
were based on a self-certificate. To continue, the candidate was to take a<br />
first test, after three months <strong>of</strong> study and pass it. <strong>The</strong> test was evaluated<br />
by the Optical Mark Reader <strong>of</strong> the computer and hence collated results<br />
for each study centre were dispatched in a couple <strong>of</strong> weeks.<br />
Age: While there was no upper age restriction, the minimum age was<br />
kept at 14<br />
Choice <strong>of</strong> Subjects: Candidates could choose the subjects they wanted,<br />
but had to take one language.<br />
Self-Paced Learning: Candidates could take up to five years to complete<br />
the course, taking, if they chose to, one or more subjects at a time,<br />
especially if they were employed.<br />
Scheme <strong>of</strong> Examination: For the benefit <strong>of</strong> the candidates, two full scale<br />
examinations were held twice in a year. Pass credits were stored (in the<br />
computer) and not lost, even when one decided to discontinue for a year<br />
or less and could resume and complete the course and pass in the<br />
remaining subjects and get certificate.<br />
Multi-Media package: Besides the printed material, which was specially<br />
prepared to be a “teacher in print” and highly interactive, audio and video<br />
support is also provided in a limited measure.<br />
Learning Support Centres: At the Accredited Study Centres, the candidates<br />
could get tutorial assistance. In order to promote self-learning, the<br />
academic staff had put all the subjects <strong>of</strong> the entire Senior Secondary<br />
course into Concept Maps or Mind Maps or Concept Webs.<br />
2.5 Two Decades <strong>of</strong> Growth <strong>of</strong> <strong>Open</strong> <strong>Schooling</strong> (1989-2009)<br />
<strong>The</strong> past two decades have witnessed steady growth and several innovations<br />
by the <strong>NIOS</strong>. In summary form, these are listed below: