The state’s lone central university, Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU), has for the first time made it to the list of top 100 universities of the country in a ranking list issued by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) of the union ministry of human resource development (MHRD). RGU jumped 25 places to reach the ranking of 99 among the 907 universities in the country. Last year the university had been ranked at 124th. This is a step in the right direction and, hopefully, it will inspire the RGU authorities to work harder to improve the ranking in the future.
Over the years, RGU had been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Issues like encroachment of university land gave a bad name to RGU. Also, the university struggled for long to properly function due to the non-posting of a regular vice chancellor. However, the situation seems to be improving of late. But still, things can get much better. The infrastructure has to be upgraded, and the authorities should check the quality of infrastructure work being taken up in the university. Most of the newly constructed buildings have developed cracks because of poor quality work. RGU is still struggling to make a mark in the field of research, which continues to be one area of concern. Institutes like the NERIST, RGU, the NIT, etc, have the potential to contribute towards the development of the state. The state government should work closely with these reputed institutions for the betterment of Arunachal Pradesh.