Educational planning requires systematic evaluation of alternative programmes to ensure the best use of scarce resources, especially in distance education where large-scale investments are involved. Cost-Benefit Analysis and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis are two widely used economic tools for this purpose, but they differ clearly in their approach, objectives, and methods of measurement. Understanding these differences is essential for informed decision-making in educational systems. Cost-Benefit Analysis is an economic technique that compares the total costs of an educational programme with the total benefits derived from it, both expressed in monetary terms. The central aim of CBA is to determine whether the benefits of a programme exceed its costs and whether it is economically worthwhile to invest in it. In education, costs may include expenditure on infrastructure, instructional materials, technology, faculty salaries, administration, and learner support services. Benefits are translated into financial terms such as increased lifetime earnings of learners, higher productivity, reduced unemployment, and social returns like lower crime rates or improved health outcomes. In the context of distance