Meet Reka

Reka came to us on a cold rainy morning. She was 21 years of age and wanted to do her Telangana Open School Society Intermediate exams. She had dropped out from the classroom course because of family matters.

‘Good morning Reka’, we said.

‘Good morning sirs, I want to do my TOSS Intermediate’, she said.

She said that she dropped out of the classroom course due to the death of her mother. Being the eldest in a family of 4, the responsibilities of home duties fell on her. But now she was married and her husband insisted that she pursue her education. Her goal is to become a nurse.

Reka chooses Biology, Physics, Chemistry subjects (no need for Mathematics!)

We suggested to her that she should pursue the Science stream as her goal was to become a nurse.

‘I am not good at Mathematics sir’, she said.

‘No worries, Telangana Open School Society has the BPC stream which stands for; Biology, Physics and Chemistry, no need for Mathematics’, we said. ‘So you can pick Biology, Physics, Chemistry and two languages of your choice’.

‘Oh that is really nice sir’, she said.

‘How confident are you at English?’, we asked.

‘Sir my English is pretty good, I speak English daily at home like a mother tongue’, she replied confidently.

‘Then will you be comfortable writing in English medium?’, we asked.

‘Yes sir, the fact is, I have studied in an International School, so I am very comfortable with English’, she said.

Requirements for TOSS Intermediate

We told her that she would require her SSC (10th) certificate along with an Aadhar card for application to TOSS Intermediate exams. We also told her that TOSS Intermediate exams are usually held on March/April months.

She would have to apply online at the TOSS official website (www.telanganaopenschool.org) a few months before the exam dates. We linked her to our website for Science stream study materials.

‘Thank you so much for the help sirs’, she said. ‘I will call you up for help with the application’.

We wish Reka the very best for her Telangana Open School Intermediate examinations.

Meet Aarathi

Aarathi came to us on a clear Saturday morning. She had completed her SSC on March 2006 in first class from ZPP Secondary School, Narayangiri. And she came to us for advice on applying to and writing the TOSS Intermediate examination.

‘Good morning, Aarathi’, we said.

‘Good morning sir, I want to apply for my TOSS Intermediate examination’, she said. ‘I had to drop out of my regular Intermediate course because I got married and I had to take care of my family’.

‘Alright, are you working presently?’, we asked.

‘Yes sir, I am working for a private firm as a clerk. I have received an opportunity for promotion at work but since I have not completed Intermediate, it has been put on hold’, she said.

‘How much time do you have to write your Intermediate?’, we asked.

‘Sir, my company has given me 1 year to clear to my Intermediate exams’, she said.

Subject choice

‘What are your future goals?’ we asked.

‘I plan to complete my B.Com sir’, she replied.

‘For B.Com we would suggest choosing the CEC subject stream. This includes; Civics, Economics, Commerce along with two languages of your choice’, we said.

‘I will choose Telugu and English sir’, she said.

Settling on 5 subjects, we moved on to the requirements to apply for the TOSS Intermediate exams.

Requirements for Telangana Open School Intermediate exams

We explained to her that she would require her SSC (10th) certificate and Aadhar card for admission to Telangana Open School Intermediate exams. We also spoke to her about  choosing a convenient study centre and Tutor Marked Assignments (TMA’s).

‘You have to physically submit 3 Tutor Marked Assignments to the study centre’, we explained.

We linked her to our website for the study materials required for her to pass the TOSS Intermediate exams.

Application to the TOSS Intermediate exams

Aarathi has applied for the Telugu medium TOSS Intermediate exams from a study centre in Warasiguda.

We wish her all the best!

Rajeshwar the jeweler

‘Hello, good morning, sirs’, Rajeshwar said.

‘Good morning Rajeshwar’, we said. ‘Please take a seat’.

After Rajeshwar sat down, we asked him what his goals were. He stated that he wanted to do his Intermediate from the Telangana Open School Society Board. He had stopped studying after his SSC due to his family pressuring him to join and help run the family business.

‘What business does your family run?’, we asked.

‘Sir we own a jewelry shop’, he said.

‘Oh, it must be a very lucrative business?’, we asked.

‘Yes sir, the business is good, but I personally feel incomplete without having at least a degree. I have been to Bellary (Karnataka) for six months to learn all about goldsmithing, but, it isn’t like an official degree’, he said

‘So what are your long term goals?’, we asked.

‘My long term goal is to complete my MBA. Maybe one day I will convert my shop into a big chain like Krishnaiah Chetty & Sons’, he said.

Documents required for the TOSS Intermediate exams

We told him that he would require the following documents for application to the Telangana Open School Society Intermediate exams; SSC Certificate from any recognized board, Aadhar card and optionally a caste certificate. We also explained that he would have to choose a study centre. And he would have to submit 3 Teacher Marked Assignments (TMA’s) to the study centre to obtain the hall ticket for the TOSS Intermediate exam.

‘So I will have to submit homework!’, he exclaimed.

‘Yes, it is like homework’, we said.

‘Where can I apply?’, he asked.

‘You can apply at the TOSS official website – www.telanganaopenschool.org‘, we said.

A link to the study materials for TOSS Intermediate exams

We told him that the TOSS Intermediate exams are usually held on March/April months. Linking him to our website for carefully sorted study materials we wished him the best of luck with the examinations.

Smiling, he said, ‘Thank you very much, you have cleared my doubts about the TOSS Intermediate exams. I will inform you when I apply and pass.’

Thanking him for approaching us we bid him farewell.

Meet Mohan Raju, marketing agent

‘Hello sir, I would like to do my Intermediate from Telangana Open School Society board’, said Mohan Raju.

He was wearing a light blue formal shirt and jeans. He looked like a young, dynamic, go-getter. Probably works as a marketing agent, we thought.

‘Please sit down Mohan’, we said.

‘Sir, I failed my Intermediate at the age of 18 and since then I have been working as a marketing agent for a firm in Habsiguda. I left my studies because I needed to support my family. My father was a railway guard who retired early due to health concerns. So I had to take his place as provider for my family.’

‘Today I am monetarily comfortable and I would like to resume my studies and complete my Distance B.Com from IGNOU (Indhira Gandhi National Open University)’, he said.

Subject list for TOSS Intermediate exam

We told him that to get the TOSS Intermediate certificate, he would have to pass in a minimum of 5 subjects from the subject pool, including 1-2 language subjects.

‘You can pick and choose your subjects from this list’, we said.

When we showed him the subject pool, he said that he couldn’t understand which subjects to pick if his goal was to complete a B.Com. We told him that ideal subjects for B.Com degree would be; economics, business studies, accountancy, Hindi and English.

‘These(above) subjects will help you when you do your B.Com. You can also choose an additional optional subject if you wish’, we said.

‘I think 5 subjects is more than enough sir’, he said.

Tutor Marked Assignments and Study Centre

Then we explained that he would have to submit Tutor Marked Assignments (TMA’s) at the study centre of his choosing. He would have to choose a study centre convenient to him.

‘So I have to physically submit TMA’s to a study centre?’, he asked.

‘Yes, you will have to submit three Tutor Marked Assignments at your study centre to obtain the hall ticket for your examination’, we said.

‘Okay, I hope I can make time for that’, he said.

‘Yes, it is very convenient for people who work, these TMA’s are designed for people just like you’, we said.

We informed him that the TOSS Intermediate examinations are held twice a year in two batches, May/June (Phase 1) and September/October (Phase 2). Advising him that he would have to apply a few months before the examination. We linked him to our website for further information on dates and other frequently asked questions about the TOSS Intermediate exams.

Documents required to apply for TOSS Intermediate exams

‘What kind of documents will I need to submit for application to the TOSS Intermediate exams?’, he asked.

We told him that he only needed his SSC (10th) certificate and his Aadhar card to apply for the TOSS intermediate exams.

‘Thank you very much. I will apply for next year’s (2023) Phase 1 examinations on May/June’, he said.

We thanked him for coming to us and wished him the best of luck with his future endeavors.

Meet Mr. Vivek Prasad

It was a sunny afternoon when Vivek Prasad entered our office. He was dressed in a black T-shirt, blue jeans and sported a light beard. He seemed like a man who worked long hours.

‘Good morning sir, I am Vivek Prasad, the one who called yesterday?’, he said.

‘Good morning Vivek, we have been expecting you’, we said.

‘How old are you? Can you tell us about your background and future goals?’, we asked.

‘Of course sir, I am 28 years old. I stopped studying after my 10th (SSC), at the age of 16, due to the death of my father. After which I was forced to join work as a waiter in Cafe Coffee Day in Gachibowli Road, Kondapur to support my mother and two sisters. I want to marry and move on with my life. But the salary they pay at work is barely enough to support my current family. So I have decided to resume my education, finish my MBA and get a better paying job at one of the multinational companies.’ he said.

‘Right, so the first step towards completing your MBA is passing your TOSS Intermediate and then complete your B.Com’, we said.

‘Yes sir, I had the same thought’, he said.

Requirements for the TOSS Intermediate examinations

‘You must clear a minimum of five subjects including one language subject to pass the Telangana Open School Society’s Intermediate course and obtain the certificate’, we said.

We gave Mr. Vivek the link to the scheme of studies for TOSS intermediate on our website. We also spoke to him at length about Tutor Marked Assignments (TMA’s) and Study Centres. To apply for the TOSS Intermediate exam Vivek would need his Aadhar card, SSC (10th) Certificate and optionally a caste certificate. Upon hearing this Mr. Vivek opened his bag and rummaged for a few seconds, smiling, he lifted up his 10th certificate and his Aadhar card.

Applying for the TOSS Intermediate examinations

‘Can you please help me with the application?’ he asked.

‘Sure, we can’, we said.

We navigated to the TOSS website and started filling out the application form for him. We scanned the required documents and uploaded the scanned pictures to the TOSS application form. Helped him choose a Study Centre near his home. And linked him to the study materials available directly on our website. He would have to download the study material (in the form of PDFs) at home.

Eyes gleaming with happiness Vivek said, ‘I can’t thank you enough, you have helped me apply and choose a convenient study centre all in a matter of 15 minutes’. We thanked him for reaching out to us.

We wish Mr. Vivek Prasad the best of luck with his examinations.

Mr. Vikrant meets us

It was a dull cloudy morning when Mr. Vikrant Singh met us in the office. He was here for advice on how to go about applying for and writing the Telangana Open School Society (TOSS) Intermediate exam. He had already visited the TOSS official website and was flabbergasted at the lack of clear information on the website. ‘Government websites have a way of confusing us’, he said. We smiled and said, ‘Well, Mr. Vikrant you have come to the right place’.

Subject streams for Telangana Open School Intermediate

‘So, which stream do you plan to pursue?’, we asked. ‘I plan to pursue the commerce stream sir, since I am an entrepreneur myself and own a printing company’, he said with a wide grin. ‘I plan to do my MBA and this seems to be the first step towards completing it’. His command over English seemed good and his manner neat. We spoke about the individual subjects involved in the commerce stream, economics, business studies and accounting. He seemed to have a keen interest in languages.

In the end he chose; economics, business studies, accounting, Hindi and English as his 5 subjects for the TOSS Intermediate exam. ‘The subject combination table on the official Telangana Open School Society’s website is very confusing. Thank you for clearing my doubts on this issue’, he said. Thanking him for approaching us, we gave him the link to our own website for detailed, clear information about the TOSS SSC and Intermediate courses. We also told him that we had organised the downloads of the Telangana Open School Society’s free textbooks for the courses. And we gave him the download link.

Tutor Marked Assignments and Study Centres for TOSS courses

‘What else do I need to know?’, he asked. We replied that for the application process he needed to be above 17 years of age, have his Aadhar card and his 10th (SSC) certificate. We also informed him about the study centres and Tutor Marked Assignments (TMAs). He was enthusiastic about the whole thing. ‘Yes, tutor marked assignments are a beautiful way of getting the student acquainted with the subjects!’, he exclaimed.

‘Thank you for everything, I will apply as soon as possible’, he said. We replied, ‘The examinations are held in April/May every year, so be sure to apply at the correct time’. He nodded and shook our hand and departed.

We wish Mr. Vikrant all the best in his endeavors.