Bangladesh Open University 3.67

The Bangladesh Open University (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ উন্মূক্ত বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়) or BOU is a national university with its headquarters in Board Bazar, Gazipur District, Dhaka Division. It is the 7th largest university in the world according to enrollment.

The university was established on October 21, 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."
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 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 (B.Ed.) 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 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.
BOU offers two types of programmes, formal and non-formal, in seven schools and a network of 12 regional resource Centres, 80 coordinating offices and 1,000 tutorial centres nationwide.
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[edit]

BOU's 11 divisions are organised into seven schools:

School of Education: programmes in education
School of Social Science, Humanities and Language: programmes in languages (English and Arabic) and social science
School of Business: programmes of BBA, PGDM, Regular MBA and Commonwealth Executive MBA/MPA
School of Agriculture and Rural Development: programmes in agriculture and development studies
School of Science and Technology: programmes in computer science, health and nursing
School of Law: programmes in law and legal studies
Open School: secondary school completion programmes

A full list of the regional resource centres and tutorial centres affiliated with BOU can be found from BOU's website.
Accreditation[edit]

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, 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 (SACODiL).
General Rules for Library Users : • Faculty/Officer can borrow 10 books and staff can borrow 4 books at a time. Books are issued for one month. Which can run again? • Rare/ reference books/journal/dailies are not issued. • Silence is required throughout the library. Writing or marking in books is forbidden. Any sort of mutilation will cause of replacement. • Faculty/Officer/Staff who have membership can use the library facilities. • BOU personnel who are serving outside the main campus can get a membership. • Membership card is not transferable. If one loses or damage his/her membership card can get a new one by applying to the librarian.

Collections: Most of the collections of the BOU Library are closely related to the university’s curriculum and those are classified, cataloged and displayed for users. At present the users of the BOU essential Library have access to around 32423 books, 392 titles of journals, 3 foreign magazines and 16 national daily newspapers in both Bangla and English. BOU Library users can access to the British council library as a corporate membership at present. The Library resources include books, periodicals, newspapers, Journals etc.
Contact addresses of the University[edit]

Main campus

Dr. Md. Shafiqul Alam Registrar (In Charge) Bangladesh Open University Board Bazar, Gazipur-1705, Bangladesh Phone: 88 02 9291112, PABX 88 02 9291101-4/211 Fax: 88 02 9291130.

City Office Registrar

Dhaka Regional Resource Centre Building Government Laboratory School Road, Dhanmondi Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh, Phone: 88 02 9673669 Fax: 88 02 9291130.

Contact addresses for academic purposes:

Dean, School of Education (SOE): 9291107, 9291101-3/290

Dean, School of Social Science, Humanities and Languages (SSHL): 9291108, 9291101-3/300

Dean, School of Business (SOB) : 9291106, 9291101-3/340

Dean, Open School : 9291109, 9291101-3/312

Dean, School of Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD): 9291110, 9291101-3/324

Dean, School of Science and Technology (SST): 9291111, 9291101-3/333

About admission please contact the Regional Resource Center RRC of your area: Regional Resource Center, Dhaka Govt. Laboratory School Road Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205 Phone & Fax: 8616065, Gate: 8619620

Regional Resource Center, Jessore Jessore Upa-Shahar (Adjacent to Dhaka Road) Post: Upa-Shar, Jessore Phone: 0421-73250

Regional Resource Center, Mymensingh Mashkanda (Adjacent to Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway) Mymensingh Phone: 091-52408

Regional Resource Center, Rangpur Bangladesh Open University R.K Road (Adjacent to Central Bus Terminal) Rangpur Phone: 0521-63593 Fax: 64806

Regional Resource Center, Chittagong Bangladesh Open University C R B Road (Adjacent to Chittagong Stadium) Cothwali, Chittagong Phone: 031-619633

Regional Resource Center, Comilla Bangladesh Open University Dhaka-Chittagong Trunk Road Noapara, Durgapur Comilla Phone: 081-77557

Regional Resource Center, Sylhet Bangladesh Open University Pirijpur, South Surma Sylhet Phone: 0821-719523 Fax: 722758

Regional Resource Center, Rajshahi Bangladesh Open University Nohata, Paba Rajshahi Phone & Fax: 0721-761607

Regional Resource Center, Bogra Bangladesh Open University Bishwa Road, Banani (Near BADC Workshop) Bogra Phone 051-72974

Regional Resource Center, Barishal Rupatali, Post- Jagua Barishal Phone: 0431-71322

Regional Resource Center, Faridpur (Beside to Nadigabashana Institute) Harokandi (Barishal Road), Faridpur Phone & Fax: 0631-62081

Regional Resource Center, Khulna Road-5, House-51 Sonadanga Residential Area Khulna-9000 Phone: 041-731795

Controller Examination Phone: 9291105 9291101-4/260
See also[edit]

List of universities in Bangladesh
Education in Bangladesh
University Grants Commission (Bangladesh)
erences[edit]

^ Heidelberg Bangladesh Law Translation Project: Bangladesh Open University Act, 1992 (URL last accessed on April 30, 2007)
^ Clause 5, Bangladesh Open University Act, 1992
^ The Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education: Current Status and Prospects for E-learning in the Promotion of Distance Education in Bangladesh, Tofazzal Islam & Abu Sadeque Md. Selim, Vol. 7 Issue 1, 2006 (URL last accessed on May 1, 2007)
^ BOU website: Profile of BOU (URL last accessed on May 1, 2007)
^ Banglapedia: Teachers' Training Institute (URL last accessed on May 1, 2007)
^ "চারটি বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের আচার্য রাষ্ট্রপতিকে করতে সংসদে বিল". Prothom Alo. 2009-06-23. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
^ BOU website: General Information (URL last accessed on May 1, 2007)
^ South-Asia.com: Vice-Chancellors of Open Universities Gather in Colombo, SAARC News, February 1999 (URL last accessed on May 1, 2007)