Certifying Agencies

Under the Scheme, it is envisaged that the examination will be conducted by a national level certifying agency.

The roles and responsibilities of the certifying agencies would be:

• To prepare a mechanism, standard norms and guidelines for design, development, delivery, assessment and certification for various courses in consultation with CSC-SPV.
• To assess and certify the competence acquired at each level of IT Literacy.
• To prepare guidelines and norms for accreditation of training/skilling institutions in terms of training/skilling infrastructure, labs, faculty/trainers, etc. in consultation with the PMU.
• To prepare norms for periodic monitoring and assessment of the quality of training partners/accredited institutions.
• A list of authorised agencies would be identified to act as accreditation agencies for the training centres as per prescribed norms.

For a smooth assessment process, the National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT) has been appointed as the key certifying agency under the Scheme.

NIELIT (formerly known as DOEACC Society) is an autonomous scientific society of DeitY envisioned to provide most updated global industry relevant computer education within the reach of more and more in the areas of Information, Electronics and Computer Education. NIELIT is engaged both in Formal & Non-Formal Education in the area of IECT besides development of industry oriented quality education and training programmes in state-of-the-art areas. NIELIT has endeavoured to establish standards to be the country’s premier institution for Examination and Certification in the field of IECT. It is also one of the National Examination Body, which accredits institutes/organizations for conducting courses in IT in the non-formal sector.

NIOS is an "Open School" to cater to the needs of a heterogeneous group of learners up to pre-degree level. It was started as a project with in-built flexibilities by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in 1979. In 1986, the National Policy on Education suggested strengthening of Open School System for extending open learning facilities in a phased manner at secondary level all over the country as an independent system with its own curriculum and examination leading to certification.