RONO HILLS, 5 Feb: Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU) here celebrated its 43rd Foundation Day on Thursday with a formal programme held at the university’s convention hall, highlighting its growth, challenges, and academic achievements.
Former registrar of the university, Dr Joram Begi, attending the programme as the Foundation Day speaker, reflected on the university’s formative years and spoke at length about the early part of the history of the university.
He spoke about the difficulties faced during the initial period of RGU, including administrative and academic challenges, and acknowledged the collective efforts that contributed in shaping the university into its present form. He lauded the university for acknowledging the contributions of retired officials by conferring citations, awards and prizes to retired teachers, employees and students of RGU.
Dr Begi added that such recognitions set a good precedence in building a good alumni network,”which is an important element of the growth of the university.” He highlighted how the gross enrolment ratio and “our literary rate of the state of Arunachal Pradesh rose with respectable numbers with coming up of many institutions, including Rajiv Gandhi University.”
RGU Vice-Chancellor (i/c) Prof SK Nayak highlighted the university’s achievements in academics and research. He expressed gratitude to the faculty members, staffers, students, and other stakeholders for their continued support in the functioning and development of the university.
“The dropout rate in the state is a big issue and the university, with help from the state government and the Centre, is building infrastructure and avenues for increasing a better enrolment ratio with current students of 5,000 to 12,000, looking into the NEP and to the vision of Viksit Bharat,” he said.
The VC called on all stakeholders to “make our education system more inclusive, where different thoughts of schools are taught.”
As per tradition, retired teaching and non-teaching staffers were felicitated in recognition of their contributions to the institution during their years of service. The university also honoured Proshato Kr Saha for receiving the prestigious National Teachers Award, 2025.
Yorna Roshni, Hinium Mama, Likha Aku, Raja Bosumotary, cadet Elisha Kino and cadet LikhaTakap – student achievers who brought laurels to RGU at the national and international levels in sports, academics, and other activities – were also honoured.
Registrar Dr NT Rikam spoke on the progress made by the university in recent years. He highlighted the expansion of academic activities and institutional development, while also drawing attention to challenges related to space constraints and infrastructure development.
He focused on the fact that “the development of the university rests on the participation of the young generation,” adding that “our students are already doing very well nationally.”
He suggested that, in this rapidly moving technology-driven world, the youths need to continuously upgrade their skills in order to progress in their individual careers and contribute to the development of the university in particular and the nation in general.
Foundation Day Celebration Committee chairman Prof Otem Padung congratulated the university fraternity “for their wholehearted endeavour to bring the university to one of the highest levels of academic institution in the nation.” The next step, he said, “is to perspire even more to achieve NAAC A++ prior to the golden jubilee Foundation Day celebration.”
To mark the occasion, the university also announced the Bank of Baroda (BoB) Achievers Award. Three students – Bingo Tayang, Yorna Rosni and Wiliang Socia – were awarded the best in academics, best in sports and best all-rounder, respectively.
The BoB RGU branch awarded cash incentives to these meritorious students under its corporate social responsibility initiative.
The Foundation Day programme concluded with a renewed emphasis on strengthening academic excellence and addressing infrastructural challenges faced by the university.
The celebration also included a home garden exhibition-cum-competitions, and a badminton tournament in open and veteran categories. The celebrations concluded with VC XI lifting the Foundation Day rolling football trophy, led by Captain Dr Nani Tamang Jose, a result of a match between VC-XI and RGUSU-XI, reflecting the vibrant campus culture of the university.
