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News India Live, Digital Desk: You have done 12th from an open school, we cannot give you admission.” – This is a line that breaks the dreams and morale of thousands of students studying from National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). But this will not happen now. All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has taken a tough stand on this arbitrariness of colleges and has issued a strict warning to all the institutes.
AICTE has made it clear that students who have passed NIOS cannot be denied admission. The move follows complaints that many AICTE-approved colleges and universities were not admitting students, despite meeting all the required qualifications, merely because their degree was from NIOS.
What is NIOS and why is it underrated?
National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) is an autonomous institution working under the Ministry of Education, Government of India. It is a recognized education board just like CBSE, ICSE and other state boards. Its objective is to connect those students with the mainstream of education who due to some reason are not able to go to regular school.
Despite this, many colleges and institutes do not consider NIOS students at par with regular board students and are reluctant to give them admission, which is completely wrong and against the rules.
What did AICTE say in its warning?
AICTE in its official statement has said in very strong words:
- NIOS is also equivalent to: NIOS is recognized at par with CBSE, CISCE and other state boards.
- Denial of admission illegal: NIOS certificates are fully valid for admission to all universities, engineering colleges and professional courses. It is a violation of the rules to deny admission to any eligible student on this basis alone.
- Violation of National Education Policy: This attitude of the colleges is also against the principles of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which talks about equality and flexibility in education for all.
- Violation of students’ rights: Doing so directly affects the right of students to pursue higher education.
AICTE has directed all recognized institutions to ensure that students passed out from NIOS are given equal opportunities in admission like students from other boards.
This decision has brought a big relief to lakhs of students studying from NIOS. Now they can fulfill their dream of taking admission in good colleges of the country on the basis of their hard work, without any fear of discrimination.