National Institute of Open Schooling

For other uses of "NIOS", see NIOS (disambiguation).

The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) (Hindi: राष्ट्रीय मुक्त विद्यालयी शिक्षा संस्थान), formerly National Open School is a national level board of education in India, controlled and managed by the Government of India. It was established by the Ministry of Education (erstwhile Ministry of Human Resource Development) of the Government of India in 1989.^[2]

National Institute of Open Schooling

राष्ट्रीय मुक्त विद्यालयी शिक्षा संस्थान
official Seal of The NIOS Board
Abbreviation	NIOS
Formation	November 12, 1989; 36 years ago (1989-11-12)
Type	National, Open Schooling
Legal status	Active
Location	Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
Official language	English Hindi
Chairman	Dr. Akhilesh Mishra[1]
Director	Dr. Rajiv Kumar Singh
Parent organisation	Ministry of Education (India)
Students	1,12,000+ (2024)
Website	nios.ac.in
Formerly called	National Open School

The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) operates through a network of five departments, 23 regional centres, two sub-regional centres, two NIOS cells, and more than 7,400 study centres (AIs/AVIs) across India and abroad. It is recognized as the largest open schooling system in the world, with a cumulative enrolment of over 4.13 million learners during the last five years.

Between 2004 and 2009, NIOS recorded a cumulative enrolment of about 1.5 million students at the secondary and senior secondary levels, and it continues to enrol around 350,000 learners annually. NIOS functions as an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Education, Government of India, similar in status to other national educational boards.

International collaboration and overseas centres

The NIOS collaborates with the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and UNESCO.^[3] It also has study centres for Indian expatriates in the Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, Nepal, Canada, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States of America.^[4]

Courses offered

NIOS offer the following courses:^[5]

• 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 Course—Equivalent to class X
• Senior Secondary Course—Equivalent to class XII
• Vocational Education Courses
• Life enrichment programmes
• D.EL.ED. course
• Secondary and Senior Secondary Course For ITI Student
• NIOS Offers Indian Sign Language as a subject at the Secondary Level for Children with Hearing Impairment (Deafness), since 2021, for its work in promotion of Inclusive Education NIOS is a recipient of the UN King Sejong Award.
• N.I.O.S Granted Affiliation to Bhola Paswan Shastri College Babhangama Bihariganj Madhepura(030049) and K.K.P.K High School Babhangama Bihariganj Madhepura(030050).Director-Dinanath Prabodh,Principal-Atulesh Verma (Babul jee) Shikshak Prakoshth Pradesh Mahashachiv at J.D.U Bihar.

Examinations

The public examinations are held twice a year in April–May and October–November on dates fixed by the NIOS. However, one is also eligible (If he/she is registered under Stream 1,3 and 4) to appear through the On-Demand Examinations at Secondary (10th) and Senior Secondary (12th). On Demand Exams are held through the year except for April–May and Oct–Nov i.e. when public exams are going on, ODE isn't held.

Results of the public examinations and on demand are usually announced seven weeks after the last date of examinations.

NIOS Organisation Structure & Who is Who

_{NIOS Current Who is Who}^[6]

S.No	Designation	Name
	Chairman	Dr. Akhilesh Mishra
1	Secretary	Col. Shakeel Ahmad
2	Director (Academic)	Dr. Rajiv Kumar Singh
3	Director (SSS)	Shri S. Vijaya Kumar
4	Director (Vocational)	Dr. T. N Giri
5	Joint Director(Administration)/RD	Shri. V. Santhanam
6	Publication Officer	Shri. D.N.Upreti
7	System Analyst & Programmer (SAP)	Shri. Naveen Bhatia
8	Assistant Director (Admission)	Bittu Rai
9	Assistant Director	Shri. Aaditya Kumar
10	Accounts Officer	Smt. Rambha Kumari

Notable alumni

1. Mary Kom (former Indian Olympic boxer)
2. Kavya Madhavan

See also

• Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)
• Board of High School and Intermediate Education Uttar Pradesh (UP Board), India
• Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), India
• Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), India (ICSE and ISC examinations are conducted by CISCE)
• Indian School Certificate (ISC), India
• Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), India
• Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC)
• West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE), India
• Board of Secondary Education, Madhya Pradesh (MPBSE), India
• Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE), India

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