Delhi Government’s Admission Drive for Dropouts in NIOS
In a major push to achieve universal school participation, the Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL) under the Ministry of Education is planning to launch a nationwide drive to identify and enrol out-of-school and dropout children into the education system through the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS).
The move is aimed at meeting the National Education Policy-2020 (NEP) target of 100 per cent gross enrolment ratio (GER) from pre-school to secondary level by 2030. Officials said the initiative is aligned with the government’s broader vision of Viksit Bharat-2047.
According to government data, nearly 2 crore children between 14-18 years of age were not attending school, while around 11 per cent of children in Grades III-VIII remained out-of-school and 50 lakh students failed board examinations each year. To address this issue, the government is banking on open schooling.
NIOS, described as “the largest open school board in the world”, offers provisions such as flexible admissions, multiple exam opportunities and an On-Demand Examination System, along with vocational courses linked to employability.
A key component of the initiative is the rollout of the “NIOS Mitra” programme, under which trained facilitators will identify, counsel and support enrolment of out-of-school children, particularly from marginalised communities. The programme will be run using a digitally monitored system to ensure accountability and measurable outcomes.
