Vidya Bhawan Rural Institute, Udaipur was established in 1956. To impart quality education to the deprived sections of rural India.
Under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Education, Government of India, it was conceived as one in the chain of institutes of rural higher education.
Vidya Bhawan Rural Institute was started with the primary objective of filling the gap between rural and urban sections of society and catering to the growing and fast emerging needs of rural community.
Today it is a full fledged multifaculty P.G. College affiliated to M.L. Sukhadia University offering courses in Science, Arts, Commerce and Management.
As part of a historic measure to develop Higher Education in rural areas, Government of India appointed a Committee under the Chairmanship of the then Deputy Minister of Education Dr. K.L. Shrimali, who was also one of the founders of Vidya Bhawan. On the report of the Shrimali Committee, the Central Government decided to entrust ten selected institutions in the country the task of establishing Rural Institutes. Vidya Bhawan Society was one of these ten.
So, the ninth anniversary of our Independence Day, 15th August, 1956, saw the birth of Vidya Bhawan Rural Institute (VBRI). The foundation-stone was laid by the Governor of Rajasthan, Shri Sardar Gurmukh Nihal Singh, on the 19th of January, 1957.
The course on Rural Sociology was first conceived and introduced by VBRI. In its early years, the Institution offered the following courses:
- Rural Services Diploma Course, which was equivalent to graduate degree of any Indian University.
- Post-Graduate Course in Rural Sociology and Community Development.
- Diploma Course in Civil and Rural Engineering.
- One year Sanitary Inspector Course
Department of Rural and Civil Engineering and Department of Extension are now running as separate full-fledged institutes, namely Vidya Bhawan Polytechnic College and Vidya Bhawan Krishi Vigyan Kendra.
Vidya Bhawan Rural Institute itself has become a Post-Graduate college.
In the past six decades, the facilities and the quality of education at VBRI has attracted students from all socio-economic sections of the society in India and also from aboard.
The courses offered at VBRI include B.A. (English Literature, Hindi Literature, Sanskrit, History, Geography, Economics, Sociology, Political Science, Rural Sociology and Public Administration,), B.Sc. (Biology, Mathematics, Computer Science), B.B.M., B.Com. and B.C.A.
Post Graduation subjects offered are English Literature, Hindi Literature, Political Science, Economics, Rural Sociology, Analytical Chemistry, Organic Chemistry Mathematics and M.Com. (ABST).
In addition to the regular courses, VBRI hosts a regular study centre of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), an internationally recognized University, which offers a wide range of degree, diploma and certificate courses.
VBRI is involved in valuable Research work and Faculty members have several papers and publications to their credit. Organizing Seminars and Workshops is a regular feature of the College.