1        Santosh Panda, Sanjaya Mishra and C.R.K. Murthy  Unlike the conventional system of higher education which in the late eighties gave impetus to professional development of teachers through the academic staff colleges established in the conventional universities, the distance education system in India has stressed on the need for training different functionaries of distance education, including teachers, from the very beginning. Training, a sub-set of professional development, has received considerable attention, because the system of distance education operates in a different framework, and since almost all of the staff working in open universities and distance education institutions come from conventional background, most probably with an inherent bias towards face-to-face teaching. Without training, it would be difficult to expect improved performance and adaptability of the methods and techniques of distance education (though this has to be seen in conjunction with continuing professional development as an individual reflective habit). Distance education started in India in 1962, though training on distance education received its due place only after the establishment of the Indira Gandhi National Open University in 1985. A Division of Distance Education (DDE) was established in 1986 to develop appropriate human resources to take up required functions in academic, administrative and technical tasks in distance education. In this chapter, we discuss the developments relating to only academic staff development in distance education. We believe that staff development is a systematic process to improve the efficiency of the academic and professional staff towards achievement of organisational goals and contribute to their articulation, refinement and sustainability. The process of staff development covers activities over and above training within its fold: it must be seen within the framework of continuing professional development. The first staff development programme at IGNOU was conducted in October 1986 by the DDE with assistance from the UNESCO regional office, Bangkok (Koul & Murugan, 1989). The 10-days national programme on production of self-learning material was intended to enable course writers to produce quality learning materials. In January 1987, IGNOU launched the Diploma in Distance Education programme as a long term staff and professional development programme; and since then, based on considerable experiences, our understanding and capabilities have grown in respect of staff development in distance education, and related developments within the system including state open universities and dual mode distance education institutions. In the following sections, while delineating an historical account, we reflect on what we have gained and how we are planning to proceed in future. The milestones on staff development given in Table 1 is a quick reference to the developments in this area. Table 1: Milestones on staff development 1986 • Establishment of a Division of Distance Education (DDE) at IGNOU. 1987 • Launch of a Diploma in Distance Education programme by IGNOU. 1989 • A national level workshop was organised in collaboration with UNESCO in January 1989 for development of training packages in DE. • 217 students of DDE were awarded diplomas at the first Convocation of IGNOU held in February. 1993 • Masters of Arts in Distance Education (MADE) programme was launched by IGNOU. • Centre for Training was established at Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU), Nashik. • IGNOU was designated as Centre of Excellence for Training in DE by COL. * In S. Garg et al (Eds.) (2006) Four Decades of Distance Education in India: Reflections on Policy and Practice. New Delhi: Viva Books.