 PUBLICATIONS & MATERIAL DISTRIBUTION

Material Production and Distribution (MPD) wing consists of two Sections, namely, Material Production and Material Distribution Sections. Presently, material Production and Material Distribution Sections were supervised by Publication Officer and Section Officer respectively. Publication Officer is responsible for production of learning material and Material Distribution Section for sending the same to the accredited institutions throughout the country for distribution to the enrolled students. Both Publication Officer and Section Officer, Material Production Section reported to Secretary.

Publications

The instructional material in NOS is provided to the students in despatches or blocks. Secondary students get 6 such blocks and Senior Secondary students get 10 blocks. This varies (and will vary) widely in case of vocational and life enrichment courses.

During the year, about 25 lakh books of nearly 400 titles were produced for 63,000 students. The total expenditure under paper and printing head during the year was of the order of Rs. 1.96 crore as against Rs. 1.38 crore only during the preceding year. The volume of expenditure under paper and printing represented 31% of the total expenditure of NOS during the year.

The focus during the year was on quality improvement. Following steps were taken for attaining higher quality in publications in consultation with the experts:

* Usage of higher strength Pulp Board of 150 GSM instead of 60 GSM white printing paper for cover of the publications; Usage of better quality Maplitho Paper of 70 GSM instead of 60 GSM white printing paper for text of the publications;

* Usage of better quality Maplitho Paper of 70 GSM instead of 60 GSM white printing paper for text of the publications;

* Catchy and attractive covers for different publications in four colour instead of covers in single colour; and

* A new format for composing despatches for secondary level in international standard size (A 4 size). Similar changes are being planned for changing format of despatches pertaining to Bridge and Senior Secondary levels.

The sea-change in the quality of publications, was reflected in the printed copies.

Some of the other important titles published during the year are listed below:-

* Inaugural issue of 'Open Learning' magazine (February, 1994) (both in Hindi and English) with a total print number of 1,35,000. The magazine printed in four colours has a unique design, format and layout which was widely acclaimed

* Open Schooling - How to make best use of (both in Hindi and English)

* Prospectus of NOS printed in four colours (both in Hindi and English)

* Information Digest - 1994

*Annual Report 1992-93 (both in Hindi and English)

Warehousing and Material Distribution

During the year, the total warehousing including the safety stocks of instructional materials ran into about 25 lakh documents of nearly 400 different titles. These were to be distributed to students in different parts of the country in 2-3 instalments.

In a distance learning institution, one of the very vital tasks is to reach the learners in time through the study material to enable them to learn themselves at their own pace. The success of the whole programme in an open education system, therefore, largely depends on the timely receipt of instructional material by the students. The distribution of study material is made at the door-steps of the accredited institutions through road-transport. However, in some of the far-flung areas, the accredited institutions are requested to collect the material from the nearest warehouses of the authorised transporters. Also, in special cases, the study material is sent directly to the enrolled students.

When lakhs of books with hundreds of titles are required to be printed, warehoused and distributed in several despatches throughout the country to reach the students in time, it becomes a major management task involving meticulous planning and organisation of timely printing, adequate warehousing space, proper stocking arrangements, packing and transportation in a tight schedule to run the system efficiently. Due to the revision of the secondary books and consequential delay in printing, despatches to the accredited institutions could not be sent as per schedule during the year. Shortage of warehousing space also posed serious problems. However, effective steps have been taken to ensure that the printing and distribution of titles is completed well in time in future. Efforts are also being made to arrange adequate and proper warehousing space.