Mumbai: Parents of result-less NIOS pupils to approach HRD ministry

Parents at the meeting held on Tuesday

Std XI online admission is scheduled to begin from today, but for around 1,000 students of the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) there is still no clarity on their results, which have been withheld without explanation. Confused parents have been approaching every authority possible, as the regional office of NIOS in Pune has already shrugged off responsibility.

Aggrieved parents held a meeting yesterday and have decided to write a complaint letter to the Ministry of Human Resources and Development.

Worried parents
NIOS declared results of Std XII on June 6 and Std X on June 8 for the April exams. After results of several city students were withheld without explanation, the pupils and parents have been worried about losing a year as admissions have already begun.

Savera Someshwar, a parent, told mid-day, "After the results were out, when we keyed in the seat number, a message popped up, which read: 'Your result has been withheld. Contact regional office'. But when we contacted the regional office, we didn't get any clear answer. They instead asked us to contact the head office in Delhi, where too our grievance was not addressed. Now, admission processes have begun, and if we do not get the result soon, our children are likely to lose out on the opportunity of higher education in the desired institute."

"Through word of mouth, we managed to get in touch with many parents facing similar issues. Until then, we didn't know the magnitude of the problem. We are still not completely sure about the enormity of this issue, as NIOS students are spread across the country. Those from the city managed to connect and hold a meeting," said Divya Mirchandani, another parent.

The other side
When contacted, Ashik Kumar, regional director of NIOS, said, "We have received several queries, but the decision has been taken by the head office in Delhi, which has not given us any information. We have directed parents to the head office." C Dharuman, secretary of NIOS, Delhi, remained unavailable for comment even after several attempts.

What is NIOS?
It is a platform for students of open schooling to appear for board-equivalent examinations. These are children who have quit regular schools for varied reasons, right from physical or mental challenges to getting home schooling. They are eligible to take admission in regular courses for higher education based on their NIOS result.

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