Pro Chancellor
On behalf of the Indira Gandhi Technological and Medical Sciences University, Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh, we are pleased to welcome all those interested in joining this University for acquiring knowledge and skills for vocationalising their careers
As the human race has ventured to enter the third millennium, conversations and news reports are peppered with references to our fragile and endangered planet. The earth is five billion years old, and over the eons it has endured bombardment by meteors, abrupt shifts in its magnetic fields, dramatic realignment of its land masses, and the advance and retreat of massive ice mountains that reshaped its surface. Life, too, has proved resilient: In the more than three and a half billion years first forms of life emerged, biological species have come and gone, but life has persisted without interruption. In fact, no matter what we humans do, it is unlikely that we could suppress the powerful and chemical forces that drive the earth system.
Although we cannot completely disrupt the earth system, we do affect it significantly as we use energy and emit pollutants in our quest to provide food, shelter, and a host of other products for the world’s growing population. We release chemicals that gnaw holes in the ozone shield that protects us from harmful ultraviolet radiation, and we burn fuels that emit heat – trapping gases that build up in the atmosphere. Our expanding numbers overtax the agricultural potential of the land. Tropical forests that are home for millions of biological species are cleared for agriculture, grazing, and logging. Raw materials are drawn from the earth to stoke the engines of the growing world economy, and we treat the atmosphere, land, and waters as receptacles for the wastes generated as we consume energy and goods in our everyday lives. Scientific evidence and theory indicate that as a result of such activities, the global environment is undergoing profound changes. In essence, we are conducting an uncontrolled experiment with the planet to the extent that we have come to a point of no return and we may face the disaster any time.
All of us are aware that India’s Higher Education System is the third largest in the world, next to the United States of America and China. As of 2019, our country has 1000+ University level Institution including all the Central, State, Deemed and Private Universities besides the Institutions of national importance.
Indian Higher Education is in need of radical reforms. A focus on enforcing higher standards of transparency, strengthening the vocational and doctoral education pipeline, and professionalization of educational sector through stronger institutional responsibility would help in reprioritizing efforts and working around complexities. The rise of information technology and vocational education sector in India has boxed the students into linear path without giving them a chance to explore and discover their passions. Concerted and collaborative efforts are needed in broadening student choices through liberal education.
Our country is believed to have had a functioning of higher and tertiary education as early as 1000 BC. Unlike our present day universities, these ancient learning centres where primarily concerned with dispersing Vedic education. The modern Indian educational system finds its roots in colonial legacy. While our university has collaborated with many like minded institutions, however, we try to maintain our independence and autonomy. We are overwhelmed to note that the students are finding a very friendly and homely environment at our university.