The Bangladesh Open University ( bn, বাংলাদেশ উন্মুক্ত বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়) or BOU is a public university with its main campus in Board Bazar,

Gazipur District Gazipur ( bn, গাজীপুর) is a district in central Bangladesh, part of the Dhaka Division. It has an area of 1741.53 km2. It is the home district of Tajuddin Ahmad, the first Prime Minister of Bangladesh and has been a prominent c ...

Dhaka Division Dhaka Division ( bn, ঢাকা বিভাগ, ''Ḑhaka Bibhag'') is an administrative division within Bangladesh. Dhaka serves as the capital city of the Dhaka Division, the Dhaka District and Bangladesh. The division remains a populati ...

. It is the 8th largest university in the world according to enrolment. The university was established on 21 October 1992. As the only public university in Bangladesh to use

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

as a method of delivery, BOU is mandated to "promote through multimedia; instruction of every standard and knowledge – both general and scientific – by means of any form of communications technology, to raise the standard of education and to give the people educational opportunities by democratizing education and creating a class of competent people by raising the standard of education of the people generally."

Administration

History

Distance education was first introduced into Bangladesh when the Education Directorate was assigned with the responsibility for distribution of 200 radio receivers to educational institutions. This led to the creation of an Audio-Visual Cell and later the Audio-Visual Education Centre (AVEC) in 1962. Upon achieving

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

in 1971, mass education was viewed as a priority in the new nation. The School Broadcasting Programme (SBP) was launched in 1978. The project was later expanded to become the National Institute of Educational Media and Technology (NIEMT) in 1983. In 1985, the NIEMT was renamed the Bangladesh Institute of Distance Education (BIDE) which offered, apart from audio-visual materials, a

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is an undergraduate professional degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. In some countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, additional tasks like field work and research are required in order fo ...

(BEd) programme via distance learning validated by the

University of Rajshahi The University of Rajshahi, also known as Rajshahi University or RU ( bn, রাজশাহী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়), is a public co-educational research university in Bangladesh situated near the northern Bangladeshi cit ...

. The success of BIDE encouraged policymakers to take up a major plan for establishing an open university. In 1992, the plan came into fruition with the tabling and passing of the BOU Act 1992 and Prime Minister was the

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the Bangladesh Open University. On 22 June 2009, a bill was placed in the parliament to assign the president as chancellor replacing the prime minister.

List of vice-chancellors

# Professor Dr. Syed Humayun Akhter (present) # Professor Dr. M. A. Mannan (2012 to 2021)

Academics

BOU offers two types of programmes, formal and non-formal, in seven schools and a network of 12 regional resource Centres, 80 co-ordinating offices and 1,000 tutorial centres nationwide.

Study programmes

A total of 21 formal academic programmes are offered by BOU. Formal programmes are academic programmes that result in the awarding of an academic qualification up to a master's degree upon completion and examination. As low rate of literacy remains an issue in Bangladesh, non-formal programmes are conducted by the BOU to create awareness and impart knowledge about health, environment, disaster management, basic science, agriculture, food, nutrition and other branches of knowledge for human development. To date, 19 non-formal programmes have been initiated in the areas of environmental protection, basic science, elementary mathematics, agriculture, bank services, marketing management, health, nutrition, population and gender issues.

Faculties

BOU's 11 divisions are organized into six

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

School of Education (SoE)

''Programs offered:'' * Bachelor of Education (BEd) * Master of Education (MEd) * Certificate in Education (CEd)

School of Social Science, Humanities & Languages (SSHL)

''Programs offered:'' * Master of Arts (MA)/ Master of Social Science (MSS) (Preliminary) * Master of Arts (MA)/Master of Social Science (MSS) (Final) * Bachelor of Law (Hons) LLB (Honours) * Bachelor of Arts (Honours)/ Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) : ** a) Bangla, ** b) Political Science ** c) Economics ** d) Sociology ** e) English Language and Literature ** f) History ** g) Islamic History and Culture and other subjects. * Bachelor of Arts (BA)/Bachelor of Social Science (BSS) * Bachelor of English Language Teaching (BELT) * Certificate in Arabic Language Proficiency (CALP) * Certificate in English Language Proficiency (CELP)

School of Business (SoB)

''Programs offered:'' * Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) * Master of Business Administration (MBA) * Evening Master of Business Administration (EMBA) * Commonwealth Executive MBA (CEMBA) * Commonwealth Executive MPA (CEMPA) * Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) * Certificate in Management (CIM)

School of Agriculture & Rural Development (SARD)

''Programs offered:'' * Bachelor of Agricultural Education (B. Ag. Ed) * Master of Science (MS) in 7 Subjects: ** a) MS in Agronomy ** b) MS in Entomology ** c) MS in Soil Science ** d) MS in Irrigation and Water Management (IWM) ** e) MS in Aquaculture ** f) MS in Poultry Science * Diploma in Youth in Development Work (DYDW) * Certificate in Livestock & Poultry (CLP) * Certificate in Pisciculture & Fish Processing (CPFP) Upcoming * Bachelor of Science (BSc.) in Agriculture * Bachelor of Science (BSc.) in Fisheries

School of Science & Technology (SST)

''Programs offered:'' * Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Engineering (B.Sc. in CSE) -''Engineering Degree'' * Master of Disability Management and Rehabilitation (MDMR) -''for MBBS Doctors'' * Master of Public Health * Post Graduate Diploma in Medical Ultrasound (PGDMU) -''for MBBS Doctors'' * Diploma in Computer Science and Application (DCSA) ''Upcoming'' * Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Communication Engineering (B.Sc. in ECE) * Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy (B.Pharm.) * Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Software Engineering (MSSE)

Open School

''Programs offered:'' * Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Bangla language * Masters in Criminology and Criminal Justice * Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Bangla language * Bachelor of Business Studies (BBS)-3 years duration * Secondary School Certificate (SSC) * Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) A full list of the regional resource centres and tutorial centres affiliated with BOU can be found from BOU's website.

Accreditation

BOU is granted the authority to confer degrees under Clause 6(c) of the BOU Act 1992. BOU is recognised as a national university by the

University Grants Commission of Bangladesh University Grants Commission ( bn, বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় মঞ্জুরী কমিশন ''Biśbobidyālaẏ mañjurī komiśan'') of Bangladesh was established on 16 December 1972. It was created according to the Pres ...

, a statutory body attached to the Ministry of Education. The BOU is a founding and participating institution of the

SAARC Consortium on Open and Distance Learning The SAARC Consortium on Open and Distance Learning (SACODiL) is a regional cooperation agency set up under the auspices of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) with the objectives of promoting cooperation and collaboration a ...

(SACODiL).South-Asia.com
Vice-Chancellors of Open Universities Gather in Colombo
, SAARC News, February 1999 (URL last accessed on 1 May 2007)

Clubs of University

* Open University Computer Club (OU Computer Club) * Open University Programming Club * Open University Computer Society- OUCS * Open University Students Union of SST (OUSUS)

References

External links

Bangladesh Open University

School of Science & Technology (SST, BOU)
{{Coord, 23.9517, 90.3798, type:edu_region:BD, display=title Educational institutions established in 1992 Bangladesh Open University 1992 establishments in Bangladesh Distance education institutions Organisations based in Gazipur Universities and colleges in Gazipur District Distance education institutions based in Bangladesh Open universities