by Cleric Christopher Nadar for BISMumbai

On the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, Don Bosco Nerul inaugurated the NIOS office, a new venture of the community to begin from the academic year 2021-22. After completion of a detailed survey across the slums of Navi Mumbai, with the assistance of lay collaborators, the community realized the need for NIOS to assist the education of many dropouts and marginalized of the society who do not have any opportunity to receive education.

With clear focus and purpose of serving the poor and the needy in and around the region of Navi Mumbai, the community met regularly for the last four/five months with education experts seeking professional advice to provide student-friendly and technology inclusive NIOS programme for the students of ages 10 and above. Under the able guidance of Father Adolph Furtado, with extensive experience in education, the NIOS in Don Bosco Nerul is set to catch momentum in the upcoming academic year.

A seventeen year old from the slums of Karave Gaon in Nerul expressed his happiness and gratitude when he got the news of this upcoming program in the Don Bosco campus. He assured the social service staff that he will make best use of this opportunity to complete his basic education along with the manual labour that he has to commit himself to for earning livelihood for his family.

Don Bosco Nerul NIOS team has decided to assist students in various situations by arranging for Basti School Centres in all the targeted Bastis, having the school facilities kept open for these students on holidays and other opportune days, training them with the assistance of technology based education, using innovative methods of accelerated learning, and much more.

Many in the bastis and nearby areas are waiting for the registration process to begin for the NIOS programme with Don Bosco Nerul. The community believes that this venture will not only help many people to get educated and complete their basic education through NIOS but also become ambitious and make a successful career in the near future.