Rajiv Gandhi University ranks second among all central universities

Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU), the lone central varsity in Arunachal Pradesh, has secured the second position among all central varsities in the country. It has bagged the spot among 40 central universities in the rankings released by the Union Human Resource Development ministry, RGU vice-chancellor Saket Kushwaha said.

The university, located in Rono Hills of Doimukh village, 15 kilometers away from here, scored 83 per cent while Jamia Milia Islamia topped the list with 90 per cent.

In the grading of central universities, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) scored 82 per cent, followed by Aligarh Muslim University with 78 per cent.

The score is based on an evaluation on 17 key parameters fixed under an MoU inked among the central universities, UGC and the HRD ministry. Every three months, the ministry evaluates the performance of the universities.

The vice-chancellor attributed the success to the efforts of "four pillars" of the university -- teachers, students, officials and non-teaching staff.

"The credit for the achievement goes to the teachers, students, officials and non-teaching staff of the university and as the VC, my effort is to create a platform for the students to showcase their hidden talent and to motivate the four pillars under which the university is functioning," Kushwaha said.

The university scored nil in two parameters -- enrolment of foreign students and recruitment of statutory positions, the VC said.

"Foreign students could not enrolled due to the Inner Line Permit (ILP) and Restricted Area Permit (RAP) restrictions in the state," Kushwaha said.

Moreover, the university could not recruit a registrar on a regular basis, and an examination controller and a finance officer in the past three years for which it scored less in the performance evaluation, he said.

The evaluation was also based on other parameters such as annual student intake in UG, PG, PhD and M.Phil and student diversity, which included percentage of female students, students from other states and countries.

The central universities were also assessed on the number of students placed through campus interviews, and the number of students who qualified in National Eligibility Test (NET), Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE).

Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU), formerly known as Arunachal University, got the status of a central university in April 9, 2007.