The impact of COVID-19 pandemic is marked in every sector around the world. The education sector is one of the worst-hit sectors due to lockdown. The worldwide lockdown has created severe impacts on the students’ life. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 has advised us that change is inevitable. But this crisis has made educational institutions grow and opt for new platforms and techniques. And yes, the education sector has successfully implemented various measures to help the children continue their studies even during this crisis.
NIOS Students are no exception among students who face the crisis. Yet, NIOS has also taken up the situation as an opportunity for transformation from the traditional system to a new era. There are several educational policies implemented by NIOS with the government. Meanwhile, NIOS is to give opportunities to more foreign students in the UAE, UK, Australia and many other countries in future. NIOS is a ray of hope for 10th and 12th standard students.
COVID 19 pandemic has challenged every sector to adapt to new techniques to survive. The lockdown has accelerated adoption of digital technology and a chance to continue education through online learning in a more efficient and productive way. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has made several arrangements, including online portals, educational channels, radio programs etc for students to continue learning. In this blog, we will read about how NIOS students are pursuing their studies during the crisis.
Measures for NIOS Education during the Pandemic
Freedom of choice of subjects, self-learning study materials, transfer of credits and flexible examination system are the advantages of NIOS. With its efficiency, the NIOS has empowered millions of learners with formal school education. Want to know more about NIOS 10th? Here is all that you need to know about NIOS education
Are you aware of the new NIOS Educational measures to continue education during this pandemic? If not, there are various measures taken by the Govt. of India with MHRD to help NIOS students. Check out the major initiatives taken:
SWAYAM Portal
SWAYAM ( Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds) is a programme initiated by the Government of India designed to provide education via a digital platform which has not been the mainstream of the educational sector.
SWAYAM Portal is a platform that facilitates hosting of all the courses, from Class 9 till post-graduation that can be accessed by anyone, anywhere at any time. All these courses are interactive and prepared by the best teachers in the country. Expert faculties have prepared these courses and they are free of cost.
The courses on SWAYAM are in 4 quadrants
1. Video lecture
This consists of organized video lessons, animation, virtual labs, etc, along with the transcription of the video.
2. Reading material that can be downloaded
This contains self-instructional material, e-Books, illustrations, case studies, presentations etc, web resources for references, related links, case studies and articles.
3. Self-assessment tests and quizzes
This contains problems and solutions, quizzes, assignments, FAQs and other clarifications.
4. Online discussion forum for clearing the doubts
This consists of a discussion forum for raising doubts and clarifying them on a real-time basis by the Course Coordinator.
NIOS offers 42 Courses on SWAYAM Platform and NIOS has completed the training of more than 12 lakhs untrained elementary teachers with SWAYAM platform.
Features of SWAYAM
- Courses and classes delivered through SWAYAM portal are free of cost to the learners.
- Those who want the SWAYAM certificate should register for the final proctored exams.
- Colleges approving credit transfer for various courses can use NIOS certificates.
SWAYAM Prabha
The MHRD (Ministry of Human Resource Development) has launched 32 Direct-To-Home (DTH) educational TV channels called “SWAYAM Prabha” that broadcasts education content 24×7 basis. This content is developed by expert teachers for transmission in SWAYAM Prabha (SP) DTH Channel. Let’s check out the major features of SWAYAM Prabha.
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The SWAYAM PRABHA is a group of 34 DTH channels that broadcast high-quality educational programmes.
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The educational programmes are conducted on a 24X7 basis using the GSAT-15 satellite.
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Every day, there will be new content which would be repeated 5 more times in a day, for the convenience of students.
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The contents produced through SWAYAM Prabha are extensively provided by NPTEL, IITs, UGC, IGNOU, NCERT and NIOS.
The DTH Channels cover the syllabus for school education (9-12 levels), assist students of class 11th & 12th prepare for competitive exams and higher education such as post-graduate and under-graduate disciplines.
The time of the classes and the hours for specific subjects are updated on the website. Students and parents must regularly visit the portal for further information. The higher education courses of NIOS contain arts, science, commerce, performing arts, social sciences, humanities, engineering, law, medicine and agriculture. If you are a UAE resident, NIOS Dubai Centre can help you with your admission and training.
DIKSHA Portal
DIKSHA ( Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing ) portal contains e-Learning content for students, teachers, and parents that includes video lessons, worksheets, textbooks and assessments. The application is also available to use offline. It has more than 80,000 e-Books for classes 1 to 12 extensively prepared by CBSE, NCERT in multiple languages.
DAISY- Digital Accessible Information System
Special e-content for visually and hearing-impaired students is another milestone of NIOS. HRD ministry is providing equal access to good quality education to the visually and hearing-impaired students. It is developed on Digitally Accessible Information System (DAISY) in sign language on NIOS website. It is also available on YouTube.
- For the visually impaired learners, study material like digital audiobooks, periodicals and computerized text are developed. Learners can access all the required course materials of NIOS through DAISY.
- For the hearing impaired learners, NIOS has recorded classes in sign language, available on NIOS website as well as on YouTube.
A podcast called Shiksha Vani of CBSE broadcasts audio content for various subjects of grades 9 to 12. CBSE-Shiksha Vani application is available on Play Store for Android phone users. Shikshavani contains content in the form of audio files on topics in accordance with the NCERT curriculum and the latest news regarding the education.
Other videos/ audio lessons
NIOS in collaboration with CIET, NCERT will jointly run a channel that will be 24*7 running channel to telecast live video programmes. Using documentaries and other interesting formats, these video programmes attempt to present the topic in a simple, interesting and engaging manner, so that the learners get a clear understanding of the subject.
The students can log in to the website sdmis.nios.ac.in or call NIOS toll free telephone to clear their doubts to the teachers. The doubts and other queries will be responded to by the experts.
Effective schooling at your Doorstep
Even during the crisis and COVID19 pandemic, the government with other organisations have taken all these measures to ensure quality education to students.
The Ministry of Human Resource Development has initiated these projects to assist teachers, scholars and students in their pursuit of learning. DIKSHA platform, Swayam Prabha TV Channel, Online MOOC courses, Shiksha Vani, DAISY for differently-abled, e-PathShala are some of them.
Various e-content like E-learning portals, webinars, chat groups, and other digital initiatives paves a new way to enhance the educational qualities of NIOS students.