NIOS–Centurion pact aims to align schooling with employability for disadvantaged youth

By Nalini Sahu
Bhubaneswar, Feb. 12: In a policy push to integrate formal education with employability, the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) has signed a strategic partnership with Odisha’s Centurion University to expand skill-linked academic pathways for school dropouts and underprivileged youth nationwide.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) seeks to institutionalise credit-based mobility between vocational training and mainstream schooling, addressing a long-standing structural gap in India’s education-to-employment pipeline. By combining NIOS’s national open schooling network with Centurion University’s portfolio of over 100 industry-aligned skill programmes, the initiative is designed to deliver recognised academic certification alongside hands-on training.

The agreement enables vocational trainees to pursue Class 10 and 12 equivalency through NIOS, introduces apprenticeship-embedded diploma programmes at accredited industry sites, and establishes a reciprocal credit transfer framework between the two institutions. The partnership will also collaborate on nationwide skill assessment and certification under the National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET), aligning with the Centre’s broader skilling and inclusion agenda.

“This removes the artificial divide between vocational learning and formal education. Credit-linked certification offers learners a flexible and recognised route to both schooling credentials and employable skills,” said Col. Shakeel Ahmad, Secretary, NIOS.

Centurion University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Supriya Pattanayak said the collaboration strengthens livelihood-oriented education. “We are connecting marginalised youth to a formal academic identity while equipping them with industry-ready expertise,” she said.

Under the pact, NIOS will provide academic and technical support, including curriculum resources, while Centurion University will lead beneficiary outreach and programme delivery in sectors such as automotive, hospitality, agriculture and allied health sciences. Both institutions will jointly conduct training-of-trainers initiatives to improve vocational pedagogy.

Education analysts say the model could serve as a template for integrating skilling frameworks with open schooling systems, a key priority under India’s evolving education and workforce policies.