learners apart from reading and w rit ing get inform at ion regarding legal aid, healt h care, environm ent and wom en issues. The SSA also offers bridge Courses, rem edial
courses, Back- t o- School Cam ps wit h a focus on m ainst ream ing out of school children int o regular schools.
3. Ja n Sh ik sh a n Sa n st h a n JSS , originally known as t he Shram ik Vidyapeet h, w as
first est ablished in t he count ry in Worli, Mum bai in 1967. JSS or t he I nst it ut e of People’s Educat ion w as init ially launched as a polyvalent or
m ult i- facet ed adult educat ion program m e aim ed at im pr oving t he vocat ional skill and qualit y of life of workers and t heir fam ily m em bers. The program m e was
evolved t o respond t o t he educat ional and vocat ional t raining needs of num erous groups of adult and young people living in urban and indust rial areas and for
persons who had been m igrat ing from rural t o urban set t ings. Now w it h t he em ergence of m illions of neo- lit erat es t hrough t he t ot al lit eracy cam paigns and t he
t ransform at ion t hat has t aken place in t he econom ic and social set up over t he years, t he role and scope of t hese polyvalent educat ional inst it ut es have w idened
m anifold.
I n t he changed scenario, t he focus of JSS is now shift ing from indust rial w orkers in urban areas t o t he num erous neo- lit erat es and un- skilled and unem ployed yout h
t hroughout t he count ry. The Sanst hans act as dist rict level resource support agencies especially in regard t o organizat ion of vocat ional t raining and skill
developm ent program m es for t he neo- lit erat es and ot her t arget groups of t he cont inuing educat ion schem e. Originally t he JSS schem e was rest rict ed t o urban,
sem i- urban and indust rial areas. Now, t he area of operat ion has been ext ended t o t he ent ire dist rict s including rural areas. As per t he revised guidelines issued by t he
Governm ent of I ndia, at least 25 percent of t he beneficiaries of t he Jan Shikshan Sanst han should be neo- lit erat es.
The JSSs offer around 255 different t ypes of vocat ional courses - from candle and agarbat t i m aking, sewing and em broidery t o com put er courses.
Earlier, t he JSSs were set up under t he aegis of non- governm ent organizat ions, St at e Governm ent s and Universit ies. On t he ot her hand, JSS Delhi is direct ly under
t he Governm ent of I ndia. How ever, as per t he revised guidelines issued by t he Governm ent of I ndia, t he Jan Shikshan Sanst hans w ill funct ion only under t he
NGOs. Effort s are on way t o t ransfer all t he Jan Shikshan Sanst hans t o run under t he aegis of t he St at e Governm ent s t o t he NGO sect or.
I n t he year 2004- 5, t here were 157 inst it ut ions wit h t he t raining capacit y of 0.35 m illion, w it h 0.15 m illion t rained so far.
4. Est ablished in 1989 as Nat ional Open School NOS by MHRD, Governm ent of I ndia,
t he N a t iona l I n st it u t e of Ope n Schoolin g N I OS was renam ed in July 2002 and is t he largest Open Schooling Syst em in t he World Providing Alt ernat ive
Schooling Syst em .
The NI OS has 1805 academ ic st udy cent res and 917 Vocat ional st udy cent res t hroughout t he count ry wit h 249 Cent res for Open Basic Educat ion. The enrolm ent
for t he last 5 years has been 1.4 m illion st udent s.
The NI OS offers open vocat ional educat ion, package courses, six m ont hs and one year vocat ional courses, life enrichm ent courses, st and- alone vocat ional subj ect s,
as w ell as vocat ional subj ect s in com binat ion wit h academ ic subj ect s.
The broad vocat ional areas com prise subj ect s ranging from agr icult ure, Com put er Science and I T, Engineering and Technology, Teacher Training t o Business and
Com m erce as well as Healt h and Para- Medical courses. The NI OS curriculum can be largely placed in t he cat egories of equivalency or
alt ernat ive schooling, life skill t raining, as well as t raining in incom e generat ion program m es.
The NI OS uses t he exist ing infrast ruct ure of Part ner I nst it ut ions, like t he Governm ent al I nst it ut ions, I ndust rial Training I nst it ut ions I TI s , t he NGOs, and
Privat e I nst it ut ions called Accredit ed Vocat ional I nst it ut es AVI s . Pot ent ial Beneficiar ies of t his schem e are t he rural poor and urban slum dw ellers,
t he socially and econom ically deprived, t he disabled or different ly abled, unem ployed yout h and adult s, em ployed and part ially em ployed workers, form al
school dropout s, wom en and girls, m igrat ory populat ion, hill and desert dwellers, life long learners, hobby skill learners and open schooling for all learners.
Som e of t he courses, like Com put er Science and I T, Engineering and Technology Com put er Science and I T and Engineering and Technology run by t he NI OS are
t aught in English. The educat ors t rainers of t he NI OS- run courses are personnel t rained in t he
concerned subj ect s from accredit ed inst it ut ions.
5. Skill Developm ent based on M odula r Em ploya ble Sk ills M ES – Very few
