Editor,
As a student of agriculture at Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU), I feel deeply disturbed by the recent decision of the administration and HoDs to shift our agriculture campus from Doimukh to Kamki in Kamba circle of West Siang district. What troubles me most is that this decision has been taken without consulting students or even teachers.
Recently, a group of us students visited Kamki to see the situation on the ground, and what we witnessed was extremely disappointing. The site has no proper infrastructure, no classrooms, no laboratories, and not even basic needs like drinking water or toilets. Yet, the administration appears determined to push us there, as if shifting us is more important than ensuring that we have the minimum facilities required for education. To us, it feels as though students are being treated like cattle to be shifted into an empty shed, rather than as learners deserving a proper academic environment.
What makes this decision even harder to accept is the financial burden that students of agriculture at RGU already face. The fee structure here is far higher compared to other central universities across the country. For the BSc (agriculture) programme, we are paying Rs 16,250, which is nearly two times the amount charged by Nagaland University at Rs 8,640, almost twice that of Visva-Bharati University at Rs 8,745 and about 1.6 times higher than Banaras Hindu University, which charges only Rs 10,000. The situation is even worse at the postgraduate level. For MSc (agriculture), RGU students are charged Rs 26,000, while Nagaland University charges only Rs 10,460, making our fee about 2.5 times higher. At Visva-Bharati University the fee is Rs 11,525, which is more than two times lower than what we are made to pay.
The starkest difference is with the Banaras Hindu University, where the fee is only Rs 3,331, almost eight times less than RGU. For students from poor and rural families, such a disparity is nothing short of punishing, especially when RGU is the only central university in Arunachal Pradesh, a state where higher education is already a challenge.
Instead of addressing these pressing issues of affordability and infrastructure, the university is unilaterally forcing us into a location that has none of the requirements for a functioning academic programme. Even the process of decision-making has been unfair. The HoDs and the administration appear to have taken this decision without proper site inspection, without consulting the students whose lives and futures are most affected, and even without informing many of their own faculty members. Only after deciding to shift did they consider visiting the site, which makes the whole process careless and irresponsible. It feels less like a step for development and more like an act of negligence that will hurt students the most.
We, as students, are not against development. In fact, we strongly believe that agricultural education in Arunachal must grow and expand with better facilities and greater support. But shifting us to Kamki without basic infrastructure and without any financial backing from the Ministry of Education is not development; it is a hasty move that puts our education at risk. Thankfully, the Rajiv Gandhi University Students’ Union (RGUSU) has stood with us, demanding that proper infrastructure be created first, that students’ voices be taken into account, and that the unjustly high fee structure be revised. Its support gives us hope, but the responsibility ultimately lies with the administration to listen.
I sincerely urge the higher authorities to take note before it is too late. Our education cannot survive on half-baked decisions, neglected facilities, and unaffordable fees. If the university truly wishes to promote agriculture education, it must do so with careful planning, adequate infrastructure and lower the fees.
Unnamed student