The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has issued a circular urging its affiliated schools to help conduct the upcoming National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) examinations. The exams are scheduled to be held from October- November.
An autonomous body under the Department of School Education, Ministry of Education, NIOS conducts public examinations twice a year, in April-May and October-November, for vocational courses, Class X, and Class XII.
In the circular issued to the schools recently, Sanyam Bhardwaj, Controller of Examinations (CoE), stated that the next Public Examinations of NIOS is scheduled to be held in the month of October/November.
Urging the affiliated schools for cooperation and consent in conducting the exam, the CoE said, “Your assistance will help NIOS in holding Public Examinations of its learners. Looking forward to your kind support as always.”
The circular also stated that NIOS is the largest open and distance education system catering to the needs of the most disadvantaged section of the society. Every year, NIOS uses the services and infrastructure of schools affiliated to CBSE for the conduct of its examinations.
The Board has also shared a link with the schools wherein they can register consent to conduct the examinations in their premises.
The Open School caters to the needs of a heterogeneous group of learners up to pre-degree level. Started as a project with in-built flexibilities by the CBSE in 1979 it came under the purview of the National Policy on Education which suggested strengthening of Open School System for extending open learning facilities in a phased manner at secondary level all over the country as an independent system with its own curriculum and examination leading to certification.
The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) provides opportunities to interested learners by making available the following Courses/Programmes of Study through open and distance learning (ODL) mode. It incudes Open Basic Education (OBE) Programme for 14+ years age group, adolescents and adults at A, B and C levels that are equivalent to classes III, V and VIII of the formal school system, Secondary Education Course, Senior Secondary Education Course, Vocational Education Courses/Programmes, and Life Enrichment Programmes