Hyderabad, Nov 13th: The National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD) and University of Hyderabad (UoH) on Nov 13 signed a MoU to jointly launch one-year distance education program in Sustainable Rural Development (PGD-SRD), the first of its kind in the country. The MoU was signed by NIRD Registrar M V Rao and his UoH counterpart C P Mohan Kumar in the presence of NIRD Director General B K Sinha and NIRD Deputy Director General K N Kumar. The ceremony was attended by Centre for Distance Education, UoH, Director S Jeelani and senior faculty of NIRD.

The NIRD Director General said two top institutions of the country, NIRD and UoH have come together to jointly launch distance mode program with the purpose of reaching the large masses. The Deputy Director General said the occasion was historic and hoped that with coming together with UoH, the program will get a good response. Earlier, UoH Registrar stressed the importance of such distance mode program, which should be instead called virtual education programs. The PGD-SRD will cover both Academic and Practical components. The course structure is designed by experts who will be immensely beneficial to the students for their career prospects they added.