Kicking off the 21st Foundation Day celebrations of the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), Anshu Vaish, Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) said that NIOS has emerged as a trendsetting institution not only in the Open Schooling (OS) sector but also as a model for Commonwealth countries. Vaish mentioned about significant projects such as the 'Hunar Project' for education of Muslim girls which was launched by the NIOS in collaboration with Bihar Education Project Council.
The Commonwealth Open Schooling Association (COMOSA) established by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), Vancouver, Canada also held its inaugural meet on the occasion. S.C. Khuntia, Joint Secretary, MHRD, congratulated the NIOS for completing 20 years of its existence successfully with an impressive enrolment of 1.6 million learners. He mentioned about the significant role that NIOS was expected to play in the Department of School Education & Literacy through supporting of the Rashtrya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA). He also emphasized on the need for the NIOS to play an important part not only in terms of access but also equity to equip learners with life skills.
