State Examination Board In India

National Institute Of Open Schooling

NIOS is an abbreviation which stands for National Institute for Open Schools in the County. The establishment of this board was done in the year 1989 by Human Resource Ministry, Government of India in order to provide Secondary and Senior Secondary Education in remote areas of the country. It is a board of National Level which administers examinations for both Senior Secondary and Secondary levels which are similar and equivalent to CBSE & CISCE in India.

The statistics shows that about approximately 1.5 million boys and girls are enrolled between the years 2004 to 2009 at both levels. However, annually 350000 are enrolled which makes this board as the biggest board of open schooling in the entire world.

Historical Background

Two conferences which are named as E-9 Summit Resolution and World Conference on Education which are held in the year 1990 and 1993 had brought massive mobilization in order to provide elementary education universally and that too for all types of education such as secondary education also. After these conferences joint efforts have been made in order to provide training and education to differently abled and disadvantaged ones and are linked with community and social development. However, in the last two decades it has been proved that this basic education has been established successfully as there are certain strong systematic mechanisms which can cater the needs of quality education for millions of people who have left their studies due to any reason and that too at a very low fee structure. On the other hand there is a massive development in the field of communications and information which has widened the door of this education. In the year 1986 Indian Government Policy known as NPE  had underlined that educational delivery future is with distance and open learning schools only. Open Schooling and ODL is committed to most of the World Governments for the expansion of long-term educational projects.

Expansion of open schooling in the entire world has put the government bodies to think that how they can upgrade the functions which are required in this educational sector. However, joint venture of Human Resource Ministry, Government of India and National Institute of Open Schooling, India have collaborated with Commonwealth of Learning, Canada, and have established a center of International Level known as NOS in order to fulfill the needs of functionaries which are evolved by open schooling.

International collaboration

UNESCO and Commonwealth of Learning are the main institutions by which development of NOS is being made in India as well as in other countries. This open schooling is in touch with many other developing countries in order to provide support in organizing programmes of advocacy. However, ICTOS offers Diploma courses, Advances Certificate and Certificate Courses.

Establishment of Open Schooling Association was possible with the help of financial assistance from COL (Commonwealth of Learning) which is having Secretariat Office at New Delhi. However, this NIOS office plays a vital role as an agency of liaisoning for mutual consultation, coordination and dissemination from the member countries. However, OSAC mandate is to manage programmes for human resource and to check for the quality control standards. In periodic meetings OSAC manages forum in order to discuss on the matters related to concerns and mutual interests.

This forum is responsible for having proper debate on educational matters related to open school concept and performs research also which is related to theoretical practice on half yearly basis.

Courses offered by NIOS

NIOS offer the following courses

• Open Basic Education Programme, Which includes following three levels courses
• OBE 'A' Level Course—Equivalent to class III
• OBE 'B' Level Course—Equivalent to class V
• OBE 'C' Level Course—Equivalent to class VIII
• Secondary Course—Equivalent to class X
• Word Processing (MS-Word)
• Jute Production Technology
• Carpentry
• Solar Energy Technician
• Biogas Energy Technician
• Bakery and Confectionery
• Welding Technology
• Typewriting Hindi/English
• Senior Secondary Course—Equivalent to class XII
• Typewriting Hindi/English
• Stenography Hindi/English
• Secretarial Practice
• Word Processing (MS-Word)
• Stenography Urdu
• Typewriting Urdu
• Plant Protection
• Water Management for Crop Production
• Oyster Mushroom Production Technology
• Furniture and Cabinet Making
• Electro-Plating
• Housekeeping
• Catering Management
• Food Processing
• Play Centre Management
• Hotel Front Office Operations
• Poultry Farming
• Soil and Fertilizer Management
• Preservation of Fruits and Vegetables
• Vocational Education Courses
• Typewriting (Hindi)
• Typewriting (English)
• Typewriting (Urdu)
• Stenography (Hindi)
• Stenography (English)
• Secretarial Practice
• Stenography (Urdu)
• Typewriting (Hindi)
• Typewriting (English)
• Typewriting (Urdu)
• Diploma in Radiography
• Orientation to X-ray Department
• Radiation Physics
• Human Anatomy and Physiology
• Dark Room Layout and Practices
• Regional Radiography and Contrast Media
• Advanced Imaging and Special Diagnostic Procedures
• Life Enrichment Programmes
• Paripurna Mahila
• Jan Swasthya
• Yog

Bhartiya Culture and Heritage

Examinations

Examinations are held two times in a year i.e. from April to May and from October to November. Students can appear for many or few subjects depending upon them. However, in five years students will get nine chances in order to complete the course. Now students who are unable to complete their courses in the prescribed time they can re-apply and can take the extension as their credits will also be transferred.

Pattern of questions paper is that theory papers require only short answers or point wise answers. Practical examinations are held for the subjects such as painting, home science, word processing, geography and science. Procedure of evaluation is simple and lenient as students are in special needs who have appeared in these examinations. However, 33% is compulsory in order to pass the examination.

System of on-demand examination is also there for the students. Thus, if student’s preparation is being completed in any one subject then one can visit NIOS center and can ask for quick examination in the particular subject. Thus, a question paper will be developed from question bank and the students will be allowed for sitting in the examination. There are many advantages such as student can appear only according to his convenient, pressure is less on student side, one can appear many times in order to improve performance. This on-demand examination facility is only available for few subjects and at headquarters of NIOS which is located in Noida. However, chances of expansion of more subjects as well as other centers are there in the country.

Regional Offices

Consortium is being established in order to systematize the links in between State Open Schools, NIOS as well as other agencies. This Board is having its offices in Dehradun, Patna, Allahabad, Bhopal, Kochi, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Pune, Hyderabad and Delhi. Jurisdictions are as follows-

Regional Offices	Jurisdiction/States Covered
Delhi I	East Delhi, North Delhi, North East Delhi, North West Delhi, Jhajjar, Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad
Delhi II	South Delhi, West Delhi, South West Delhi, Central Delhi, New Delhi, Gurgaon and Faridabad
Hyderabad	Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka
Pune	Maharashtra and Goa, Daman and Diu
Chandigarh	Haryana (excluding Faridabad, Gurgaon and Jhajjar), Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh
Kolkata	Sikkim, West Bengal and Andaman Nicobar Islands and Subcentre Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar	Orissa
Kochi	Tamilnadu, Kerala and Pondicherry
Patna	Bihar and Jharkhand
Jaipur	Rajasthan and Gujarat
Bhopal	Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh
Allahabad	UttarPradesh and sub Centre Dehradun
Sub Regional Centre -Dehradun	Uttrakhand, Meerut, Bagpat, Saharanpur, Muzzafarnagar, Moradabad and J.P. Nagar(Amroha), distt. of UP