Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh will soon have its own institute of open schooling on the lines of the central government sponsored National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), an official said on Saturday.

"The state government has already issued directives in this regard," confirmed Uttar Pradesh Board director K.M. Tripathi.

According to officials, the state government has already allocated Rs.10 million for setting up the Uttar Pradesh Institute of Open Schooling (UPIOS).

Like the NIOS, the UPIOS will offer academic and vocational programmes for school drop-outs, neo-literates and out of school learners, they said.

It will offer educational courses at three levels: elementary, secondary (equivalent to class 10) and senior secondary (equivalent to class 12), they added.

Like NIOS, UPIOS will offer "a fascinating array of schooling options. Students of UPIOS would be able to take their examinations as per their convenience", said an official.

At present, no deadline has been fixed for setting up the UPIOS that will benefit about five million students, the officials said. IANS