AIU to issue equivalence SOP to all school boards soon; Panel to meet on December 27

NEW DELHI: In an effort to address the difficulties faced by students related to the ‘equivalence certificates’ issued by the secondary, senior secondary boards for the purpose of admissions in higher education institutions, the ministry of education has entrusted the responsibility to the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) to prepare a SOP. The first meeting of the committee will convene on December 27, 2021, as per the Times of India report.

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The AIU will prepare a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for all the school boards in India. The SOP will ensure that the school education board is following the Right to Education Act, extant National Curriculum Framework (NCF), and is National Education Policy-compliant. It will further ensure that the teachers in schools affiliated to the board possess qualifications as laid down by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).

The AIU has constituted a 10-member committee comprising UGC, AICTE, CBSE, NCERT, NIOS and others for drafting the SOP.

Equivalence granted based on fulfilment of the SOP by the AIU will be considered valid at all India level for the purpose of higher education and employment.

The ministry of education informed that the provision will be applicable to both government and private school boards.

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“The SOP shall ensure that the due diligence process is rigorous and is based on the extant NCF, a clear-cut scheme and bye-laws of examinations and affiliations and follows all other laws and regulations applicable to the School boards while granting the equivalence,” the ministry added.

The ministry also said that the AIU will not seek any funds or grants from the ministry of education for this task.