Distance Education Bureau

The Distance Education Bureau (DEB) is a branch of the University Grants Commission (UGC) located in New Delhi, India, entrusted with the oversight and regulation of distance education within the country. It was instituted in 2012, succeeding the Distance Education Council (DEC), which had been responsible for open learning and distance education since 1985. The inception of distance education in India dates back to 1962 when a pilot project for correspondence courses was initiated, leading to the establishment of the University of Delhi's School of Correspondence Courses and Continuing Education (now DU-SOL). This pilot project's success prompted the introduction of correspondence course institutes, later renamed as directorates or centers of distance education, in more universities.

In 1982, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University became the first open university in India, followed by the establishment of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) at the national level in 1985. While the University Grants Commission (UGC) serves as the statutory authority for regulating higher education in India, the responsibility for promoting and coordinating open and distance learning (ODL) was entrusted to IGNOU under the Indira Gandhi National Open University Act of 1985. The Distance Education Council (DEC) was established by IGNOU in 1991 and became operational in 1992, with the Vice Chancellor of IGNOU serving as the ex officio chairperson of DEC.

In August 2010, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) formed a committee to assess distance education standards in India. The committee recommended the establishment of a new regulatory body, the Distance Education Council of India (DECI). It also proposed that, until such a body was established, DEC should be transferred to the UGC. On December 29, 2012, the MHRD issued an Order transferring the regulatory authority of distance education from IGNOU to the UGC. In May 2013, IGNOU dissolved the DEC, and the UGC took over all assets and personnel, establishing the Distance Education Bureau.