National Consultative Workshop on Virtual Open Schooling in India

New Delhi- 8/11/2012: Open Schooling in India started as a project of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in 1979, which gave rise to the National Open School in 1989, renamed the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) in 2002. The mission of NIOS is to provide relevant continuing education at school stage, up to pre-degree level through Open Learning system to prioritized client groups as an alternative to formal system, in pursuance of the normative national policy documents and in response to the need assessments of the people, and through it to make its share of contribution to universalisation of education, greater equity and justice in society, andevolution of a learning society. Over the years, the NIOS has served through Open Basic Education (OBE) Programme for 14+ years age group, Secondary Education Courses, Senior Secondary Education Courses, Vocational Education Courses/Programmes, and Life Enrichment Programmes. Today, it is the largest Open School in the world with more than 2.02 million cumulative enrolment in its various courses and programmes. Apart from supply of print materials for distance learning, it also uses audio, video, radio and television programmes. It has also taken steps towards integrating new information and communication technology in the teaching and learning process with the introduction of Online admission, On-Demand Examination System, and Open Educational Resources. Considering the pioneering works at NIOS, the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), Vancouver, Canada has been supporting the initiatives of NIOS.

In order to further collaboration of the COL and NIOS, the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA) – regional centre of COL in New Delhi, has started a joint initiative with NIOS to explore the possibility of offering Virtual Open Schooling – a new model of educational delivery using online technologies. NIOS is in the right level of development to add another option for its students by offering online learning. The one day national consultative workshop to be held on 16 October 2012 shall discuss the concepts and technology for virtual open schooling with the stakeholders, especially with the State Open Schools in India. With the growing access to Internet, mobile telephone and broadband, it would be worthwhile to consider new opportunities to increase access to quality education. Virtual Schools are very successful in Australia, Canada, Korea, Turkey, and the United States. Experiences of these countries in using technology for teaching and learning at the school level can help India in promoting access to secondary education and vocational education.