PUBLICATION AND MATERIAL DISTRIBUTION
Printing of lakhs of books with hundreds of tides, their warehousing and distribution in several despatches throughout the country to reach the students in time is 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.
Publications Printed books are the main source of learning for a distant learner. During the year, about 30 lakh books of nearly 430 tides were printed. In addition, NOS printed and supplied around 4 lakh books of 229 titles costing around Rs. 38.00 lakhs for the students of Haryana Open School.
The total expenditure under paper and printing head during the year was of the order of Rs. 113 crore which represented 25 per cent of the total expenditure of NOS during the year.
The focus on quality improvement of publications continued as reflected in the quality of printed copies of the study material and other publications brought out during the year. Some of the unique features of NOS publications include unique layout in A4 size following international standardization of sizes; use of graphics in between the text to make the reading catchy, use of good quality paper of 70 GSM Maplitho for text and 150 GSM Pulp Board for cover, and different cover design for different subjects. It is further proposed to switch over to two colour printing of NOS despatches.
In addition to the instructional material, some of the other important publications during the year include:-
* Two issues of 'Open Learning' bimonthly Magazine' (April, 1994 and October, 1994) (both in Hindi and English with a total print number of 1 lakh)
* Education for All - the role of open learning system
* Open Schooling - selected experiences * Distance Education in SAARC countries * Annual Report 1993-94 (both in Hindi and English).
During the year, printing of despatches in Bangla and some other regional languages was undertaken. It is also proposed to bring out the 'Open Learning magazine in Bangla and other regional languages.
Material Distribution The success of the whole programme in an open education system largely depends on the timely receipt of instructional material by the students to enable them to learn themselves at their own pace.
The instructional material is provided to the students in despatches or blocks. Secondary students get 6 such blocks and Senior Secondary students get 10 blocks. This vanes (and will vary) widely in case of vocational and fife enrichment courses.
The distribution of study material is made to the students through the accredited institutions who are supplied the study material in bulk for the students admitted by them The study material is supplied to the accredited institutions at their door-steps through road-transport. However, in some of
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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.
During the year, the study material sent to the accredited institutions in 4 lots during August, 1994, September, 1994, February, 1995 and March, 1995 for the admissions made in May, 1994, September, 1994 and October, 1994. The despatch of study material comprising of full sets of despatches to the accredited institutions was accom- plished successfully with minimal complaints about short supplies.
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