Bangladesh Open University

The Bangladesh Open University (BOU) Bengali: বাংলাদেশ উন্মুক্ত বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় (বাউবি), established on 21 October 1992, is a public university with its main campus in Board Bazar, Gazipur District, Dhaka Division. It is the 8th largest university in the world according to enrollment.

As the only public university in Bangladesh to use distance education 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."

History

Distance education was first introduced into Bangladesh when the Education Directorate was assigned responsibility for the 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 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 (BEd) programme via distance learning validated by the University of Rajshahi. 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 the prime minister was the chancellor 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.

On 4 December 2024, the BOU and the Directorate of Youth Development under the Ministry of Youth and Sports signed a memorandum of understanding for youth empowerment.

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 the 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:

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)
• Professional Master of Business Administration (PMBA)
• Commonwealth Executive MBA (CEMBA)
• Commonwealth Executive MPA (CEMPA)
• Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM)
• Certificate in Management (CIM)
• Master of Philosophy (MPhil)

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

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:

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