Description

What is NIOS?
The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), formerly National Open School, (name changed in 2002) is the board of education under the Union Government of India. It was established by the Ministry of Human Resource Development of the Government of India in 1989 to provide education to all segments of society under the motive to increase literacy and aimed forward for flexible learning. The NIOS is a national board that administers examinations for Secondary and Senior Secondary examinations similar to the CBSE and the CISCE. It also offers vocational courses after high school.
In July 2002, the Ministry of Human Resource Development amended the nomenclature of the organization from the National Open School (NOS) to the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) with a mission 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 the formal system, in pursuance of the normative national policy documents and respond to the need assessments of the people, and through it to make its share of contribution to the universalization of education, to greater equity and justice in society, and the evolution of a learning society.
NIOS had a cumulative enrollment of about 1.5 million students from 2004 to 2009 at secondary and senior secondary levels and enrolls about 350,000 students annually which makes it the largest open schooling system in the world.

What does NIOS do?
We offer the following courses of The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) to interested learners through open and distance learning (ODL) mode.
Secondary Education Course
Senior Secondary Education Course

International collaboration and overseas centers
The NIOS collaborates with the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and UNESCO. It also has study centers for Indian expatriates in 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. We are one of its study centers based in the UAE. We have been providing NIOS programs since 1997.

Examinations
The public examinations are held twice a year in April–May, and October–November on dates fixed by the NIOS. However, one also eligible to appear through the On-Demand Examinations at Level and Senior Secondary level in those subjects only in which candidates have taken admission in NIOS for subject wise learning. Results of the public examinations are announced usually six weeks after the last date of examinations.