About NIOS

The NIOS and College Admissions

Saeema Parekh (name changed) is a bubbly and talented girl whose school offered her little choice to pursue her hobbies and insisted on rote learning. She loved Theater but had to resort to theatrics to skip school, which forced her to rote learn. She loved creativity in Arts, but her school insisted on drawing within the box! Seema had no boxes to begin with!

Seema’s parents stumbled upon Open Schooling. The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) is an autonomous organization in pursuance of the National Policy on Education 1986 by the Ministry of Education (MoE), Government of India (GoI), and the largest open schooling system in the world.

It is ISO Certified 9001:2008. This was a gold mine. NIOS offered a number of Vocational, Life Enrichment, and community-oriented courses besides General and Academic Courses at Secondary and Senior Secondary levels.

Seema opted out of the conventional school and moved to the NIOS Board. She chose Mathematics, Science & Technology, and English as her three core subjects. Then she also added Data Entry, Painting, and Business Studies. While the books were similar to CBSE, suggesting the parent publishing body was influenced by the NCERT curriculum, the topics were not necessarily all contemporary. Yet, she had the choice and freedom to do her own research.

TMA, the tutor-marked assignment which contributed to about 10 to 15% of her total marks, was exciting. She solved the six mandatory questions with one on research too. Her local study center was cooperative. Seema broke a myth about NIOS students. This was her board of choice and she scored excellently. Her marks cumulated to 83% with a top score of 98 in Painting.

Then came the litmus test. She applied for online college admission through 11th Admission. She waited for the first list but did not get in. Re-applied. Waited for list no.2. The wait proved futile. The same happened for the next two lists. She saw her friends from other boards accepted into top colleges with percentages lower than hers. Seema was devastated.

She didn’t get in even in the Special Round. After 6 lists, she finally got through in the 7th list, receiving admission in Daily Merit Round. While she did get into the stream of her choice and into a reputed Commerce college, she realized NIOS students are being treated unfairly.

Students choose Open Schooling as it gives them multiple options and has the backing of the Government. There is credibility and accreditation. However, there is also stigma and stereotype. Not all NIOS students are special children, have an LD (Learning Disability), or are slow learners.

This stigma carries on, and the students who have completed their Grade X and XII from NIOS are treated with prejudice. They are subjected to final lists in College admissions or relegated to admission only if there are still vacant seats. The blatant education-caste system must be done away with.

If we are to raise our ranking at PISA (ProgramforInternationalStudentAssessment) where unfortunately India finds itself in the bottom half with 73rd among 74 countries, above only Kyrgyzstan, then we need to step up. Students from NIOS or those opting for alternative education and creative studies must be encouraged and not shunned. Colleges and Graduate courses must encourage and welcome students, who more often than not have high Emotional Quotient and several diverse talent and certifications to their credit. Yes, Seema and others have chosen a ROAD LESS TRAVELED but they have reached their DESTINATION too and these students MUST BE WELCOMED.

Author: Dr Dawood Vaid – Founder, Golden Sparrow Education