Union Minister of Education (MoS), Subhas Sarkar, addressed the 33rd Foundation Day celebration of the 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 Education, Dr Subhas Sarkar, was invited as the chief guest for the occasion.
The minister addressed those present and praised NIOS for its contribution to an affordable, flexible and accessible education system throughout the country. He also praised the institute, the world’s largest open education 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 members of NIOS and presidents of educational institutions were also present at the celebration.
Dr. Sarkar noted that the MoE has assigned NIOS several critical responsibilities. From developing inclusive learning resources to expanding the open and distance learning system in all regions of the country to translating all courses into more languages, NIOS has been entrusted with a lot of important work. In addition to a summary of the obligations that NIOS assumes, he also praised the many achievements of the institute.
The minister said NIOS had so far enrolled ten crore adults in the ‘Basic Literacy Assessment’, trained more than ten lakh teachers in less than two years and adopted the Gender Green project and training in yoga.
He emphasized the Institute’s contribution to Indian Sign Language (ISL) and drew attention to the prestigious King Sejong Award awarded to the Institute by UNESCO. In addition, he said that ISL is recognized as a secondary level subject on national and international platforms.
The minister also spoke about the New Education Policy 2020 in his speech. He stated that NEP 2020 emphasizes the holistic development of students, aiming to equip them with 21st century skills, essential learning and critical thinking. He added that NIOS has led from the front in the implementation of the NEP 2020 in the open education system. The event also screened a documentary about NIOS’ educational efforts over the past 33 years.
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