NIOS - National Institute of Open Schooling for Open Distance Learning

NIOS - National Institute of Open Schooling is autonomous institute under Ministry of Education, Govt. of India

NIOS has been vested with the authority to enroll, examine and certify students in school education courses upto the pre-degree level. Thus NIOS, like CBSE and CISCE, acts as a national level Board of school education.

Students who complete Open Distance Learning (ODL) courses / get certified through NIOS board examinations qualify to appear for entrance exams or college admissions for higher education.
Many homeschoolers in India go through NIOS path for Secondary school or higher secondary school certification or joining college / higher education.

NIOS through Open Schooling System provides a wide choice of the courses of study upto pre-degree level through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode of education. There are (in 2014) more than 6000 study centres of NIOS in India for delivery of its programs like Open Basic Education, Secondary Education, Senior Secondary Education and Vocational Education. Through many NIOS study centres outside India too, NIOS has international presence in in foreign countries too.

In the form of alternative education in India NIOS provides many innovative features & provisions that are not generally available in formal schooling systems in India. Which are,

• Freedom to learn at own pace at any place
• Flexibility including
  - Round the year admission
  - Wide choice of courses
  - Examination when learner wants (nine chances to appear in examination with facility of credit accumulation)
  - Facility of On Demand Examination.
• Relevant Vocational Education courses which are expected to be functional and useful in daily life and set the pathway of the world of work.
• Option of choosing Vocational subjects with Academic courses.
• Credit accumulation facility.
• Transfer of Credits facility from other Boards of School Education.
• Personal Contact Program (PCP)
• Tutor Marked Assignments (TMA)
• ICT and Media support to learners.
• Support services in the constituents of NIOS and in the Study Centres

NIOS was incepted on 23 November, 1989

NIOS provides Learner Support Centre (LSC)) through which callers can get details about NIOS programs and activities.