Education has been considered as a priority sector and a great challenge to the Bangladesh Government, with a view to transforming human potential into a productive workforce. The conventional face to face education system is not enough to cope with the need of an ever increasing population, rapid changes in human knowledge and the global context being changed. Education through open and distance learning (ODL) has been recognized as an important alternative in the country. Bangladesh Open University (BOU), established in 1992, has been mandated to improve the quality, relevance and efficiency of the education system with a view to eradicating illiteracy, developing human resources and alleviating poverty in the country. This article outlines the services provided by BOU, and explains how BOU utilizes its infrastructure and support services to deliver formal and non-formal programmes in basic and applied sciences, agriculture, technology, health, environment, education, language, teaching education, literature, population and gender issues to create awareness and promote knowledge. The impact of the programmes are reviewed and evaluated, based on feedback studies with target groups, and with particular reference to ODL in agriculture and rural development.