NETWORKING OF OPEN SCHOOLS
 

The need for starting state level open schools for achieving the mission of universalisation of educational opportunities in response to the national challenge of Education For All and widening the access to secondary education through mother tongue, regional languages has been focussed by various national policy documents.

The NOS is mandated to play the role of a national apex resource centre for open schooling in the same fashion as NCERT operates for the formal system and IGNOU operates for open learning system at the university level. This involves specific national lead role of facil- itating setting up state open schools, coordination of standards and other resource support to state open schools.

The task is to help all the states to start open schools in a phased manner. In addition to Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu state open schools which already existed, Haryana Open School started functioning during the year on the basis of the project prepared by NOS and resource support extended.

During the year, the NOS prepared detailed project reports for starting State Open. Schools for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal. The proposal for Madhya Pradesh State Open School was discussed by a team of experts from NOS with the State Education Minister, Education Secretary and other top level educational func- tionaries of the state. The proposal for setting up West Bengal State Open School was also discussed with the state government at the high- est level. Both the state governments of Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal have decided to set up State Open Schools in their states which will start operating from 1995-96.

In the first phase, the Madhya Pradesh State Open School (MPSOS) would offer the preparatory, primary, secondary and senior secondary courses. The elementary level course would be introduced in the second phase. The study materials for preparatory equivalent to standard III, and primary (equivalent to standard V) is being de- veloped by NOS in collaboration with MPSOS and the Task Force already constituted by Rajiv Gandhi Prathmik Shiksha Mission for its Alternate Schooling Project in a time bound manner.

The West Bengal State Open School (WBSOS) will provide open school facilities in Bengali medium and offer full range of courses from open basic education to open senior secondary courses in addition to open vocational education courses.

The NOS would be providing professional guidance and services to the state open schools as well as training to the state open school personnel The NOS is also expected to make financial contribution for the establishment and development of state open schools.

During the year, the NOS sanctioned total grant of Rs. 40.00 lakhs as seed money at the rate of Rs.20.00 lakhs per state open school for setting up and development of Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal State Open Schools.

Some other states have also shown interest in setting up state open schools. In this context, discussions have been

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held with the state governments of Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar and Karnataka.

During the year, the NOS brought out the following modules to facilitate state governments in the task of project formulation and establishment of state open school study centres:-

i) Setting up Open Schools: A Module on Project Designing

ii) Setting up Open School Study Centre.

It is also planned to develop modules on the training package and programme for coordinators of study centres; training package and programme for Tutors; and interactive learning.

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