Bangladesh Open University

The Bangladesh Open University or BOU is a public university with its main campus in Board Bazar, Gazipur District, Dhaka Division. It is the 7th 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 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."HistoryDistance 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 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.