MoS For Education Addresses NIOS' 33rd Foundation Day, Praises Institute's Work in Accessible Schooling

Union minister of state for education (MoS), Subhas Sarkar addressed the 33rd foundation day celebrations of National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) as the event’s chief guest. The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) celebrated its 33rd Foundation Day on Thursday, November 23. The Union Minister of State for Education, Dr Subhas Sarkar, was invited as the Chief Guest for the occasion.

Addressing the gathering present at the event, the minister praised NIOS for its contribution to providing an affordable, flexible, and accessible education system across the country. He also commended the institute, the world’s largest open schooling system, for empowering and mainstreaming out-of-school children. In addition to Dr Sarakar, senior officials of the Ministry of Education (MoE), Heads of Departments, officers and staff of NIOS, and chairpersons of educational institutions, were also present at the celebration.

Dr Sarkar noted that the MoE has tasked NIOS with multiple crucial responsibilities. From developing inclusive educational resources to expanding the open and distance education system in all regions of the country to translating all courses into more languages, the NIOS is entrusted with a lot of important work. In addition to listing these commitments that NIOS shoulders, he lauded the institute’s many achievements, too.

The minister mentioned that so far, NIOS had enrolled ten crore adults under the ‘Basic Literacy Assessment’, trained over ten lakh in-service teachers in less than two years, and taken on Gender Green Project and training in Yoga too.

Highlighting the institute’s contribution towards the Indian Sign Language (ISL), he drew attention to the prestigious King Sejong Award that UNESCO awarded the institute. Moreover, he said that ISL has been acknowledged at national and international platforms as a subject at the secondary level.

The minister also spoke about the New Education Policy 2020 in his address. He stated that NEP 2020 emphasises the holistic development of learners, aiming to equip them with 21st-century skills, essential learning and critical thinking. He added that NIOS has led from the front in implementing the NEP 2020 in the open schooling system. The event also saw the presentation of a documentary based on the educational endeavours NIOS had undertaken in the past 33 years.

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