Historial Outline

Bangladesh Open University (BOU) was established in 1992 to provide a wide range and greater access to need-based formal and non-formal compatible education and effective training. Access to higher agricultural education is limited in Bangladesh due to the few numbers of seats at related universities. Considering the fact, with a view to imparting need-based education, the School of Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD) was established in 1996. School of Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD) is one of the six academic schools of BOU.

The main objective of the school is to impart education through face to face and blended methods comprising formal and non-formal programs in the field of agriculture and rural development. At present, the Bachelor of Agricultural Education (BAgEd), Diploma in Youth Development Work (DYDW), Certificate in Livestock and Poultry (CLP) and Certificate in Pisciculture and Fish Processing (CPFP) programs are running from this school at different study centers in all over the country. SARD already created opportunities of MS and PhD programs for the graduates of agriculture, agricultural engineering, livestock and fisheries at the SARD of BOU. Launched Master in Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Livelihood (MSARL) for BAgEd degree holders and science graduates since 2019. SARD is also going to offer Certificate in Poultry Management (CPM), Certificate in Food Processing and Preservation (CFPP), BSc Ag and Bachelor in Youth Development Work (BYDW) programs very soon. In the near future, BOU will also establish an agricultural training and research center for providing field level facilities to the learners and professionals. A peer reviewed journal entitled 'Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development (JARD)’ is published from SARD after every six month on regular basis since 2003.

Mission

The mission of SARD is to stretch quality education in the field of agriculture among all segment of citizens and also conduct research to make the country self-sufficient in food.

Vision

SARD combats to assure certificate to higher education in the field of agriculture in different stakeholders of the country.