National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS): Precise Information

Setting up of NIOS

• Started as a project on "Open Schooling" under the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in 1979.
• Established in 1989 as the National Open School (NOS) by the Govt. of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). In 1990, the Govt. of India through a Gazette notification vested NOS with the authority to examine and certify learners registered with it up to Pre-Degree level Courses.
• Re-christened as the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) in July 2002.
  
  
  

Regional Centres

Allahabad, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Kochi, Patna, Pune, Dehradun, Bhubaneswar, Bengaluru, Gandhinagar, Raipur, Chennai, Ranchi, Dhramshala, Vishakapatnam, Sikkim (Gangtok), Amethi (Sub Regional Centre as Darbhanga,Kota)

Number of Study Centres 

1. Academic (AIs) : 3530 including 26 AI in U.A.E, Nepal, Kuwait, Qatar,Muscat and Kingdom of Bahrain
2. Vocational (AVIs) : 1379
3. Open Basic Education (OBE) (AAs) : 1313

The Study Centres are known as Accredited Institutions (AIs) for Academic Courses, Accredited Vocational Institutions (AVIs) for Vocational Education Courses and Accredited Agencies (AAs) for Open Basic Education (OBE) courses.

Enrolment

Cumulative Enrolment :  2.71 Million

• Secondary - 46%
  Senior Seconadry - 49%
  Vocational - 5%
• NIOS is the largest Open Schooling System in the world.
• Admission in NIOS is 100% Online for Sec. (10th), Sr.Sec. (12th), Round the year with cut off Dates

Courses Offered

• Open Basic Education (OBE) (A level, B level, C level equivalent to Class III, V, VIII respectively of formal Education) courses are offered through Accredited Agencies (AAs).
• Secondary - leading to Secondary School Certificate.
• Sr. Secondary - leading to Senior Secondary School Certificate.
• Open Vocational Education.
• Life Enrichment Programmes.

Highlights and flexibilities

• Freedom to choose subjects; continuous assessment through Tutor Marked Assignments (TMA).
• Facility of On Line Registration for Admission and Examination Credit accumulation facility;
• 9 chances in 5 Years to complete a course;
• Provision of Re-admission after 5 years.
• Learning support through Personal Contact Programme (PCP);
• Transfer of credits (up to 2 subject) from some other Boards.
• Media Programmes are telecast and broadcast.

Study Materials

• Printed Self Instructional study materials supported by Audio- Video programmes. A half yearly Magazine "Open Learning" is also provided to the learners.

Mediums of Instruction

• Hindi, English, Urdu, Marathi, Telugu, Gujarati and Malayalam mediums at Secondary stage.
• Hindi, English, Urdu mediums at Sr. Secondary stage.
• Freedom to write reply in any schedule language.

Sanctioned Staff strength: 394

Budget (2013-2014)

• Plan NIL
• Non-Plan Rs. 135.14 Crore

Certification

Year	Secondary (Class X)	Sr. Secondary (Class XII)	Vocational	OBE
2008-09	103410	95213	13784	30547
2009-10	120739	114893	13438	52414
2010-11	137993	137129	14210	32784
2011-12	127023	133316	12154	20623
2012-13	139647	155647	16981	16792
2013-14	164192	160309	16090	15289

Total No. of learners certified since 1991(Sec.+ Sr.Sec. +Voc)= 3324797

Total No. of learners certified under OBE = 487717

• Conducts examination twice a year in Apr-May and Oct-Nov.
• On-Demand Examination at Secondary & Sr. Secondary level at the NIOS, Headquarter and its Regional Centre