ITANAGAR, Jul 3: The long wait of the Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU) for a full-time Vice Chancellor has ended, with the Central Government appointing Dr Shivaraj, retired Professor of Chemistry at Osmania University, Hyderabad, as the regular VC of RGU.
The appointment, notified by the Ministry of Education's Department of Higher Education on 2nd July, 2026, ends nearly two years of uncertainty over the university's top academic leadership.
In pursuance of the Ministry of Education’s Letter No 35-3/2023 CU.I/CU.II dated 2nd July, 2026, the President of India, in exercise of the powers conferred under Statute 2 of the Statues of the Rajiv Gandhi University Act, 2006 (No 8 of 2007), in her capacity as the Visitor of Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh, has been pleased to appoint Dr Shivaraj, Professor of Chemistry (Retd), Osmania University, Hyderabad as the Vice-Chancellor of Rajiv Gandhi University, for a period of five years or till attaining the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier.
Meanwhile, the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) has welcomed the Union Government's appointment of Dr Shivaraj, retired Professor of Chemistry at Osmania University, Hyderabad, as a regular VC of RGU.
The appointment, notified by the Ministry of Education's Department of Higher Education on 2 July 2026, ends nearly two years of uncertainty over the university's top academic leadership.
RGU had been functioning without a regular, full-time Vice Chancellor since October 2024, when Prof S.K Nayak was designated in-charge VC following the end of Prof Saket Kushwaha’s extended tenure.
The absence of a permanent head had been a long-standing concern for AAPSU, which had repeatedly petitioned the Centre — including in a 27-point memorandum submitted to Education Minister Pasang Dorjee Sona in May this year — for the university to be given regular leadership.
AAPSU president Meje Taku, reacting to the development, said: “This appointment addresses a genuine and long-standing concern of the student community of Arunachal Pradesh. RGU is the state's lone central university, and prolonged in-charge arrangements cannot substitute for a full-time Vice Chancellor empowered to take binding academic and administrative decisions. We thank the Ministry of Education and the Government of India for responding to our demand and appointing a regular Vice Chancellor.”
He added: “We hope Dr Shivaraj will build on this moment and take RGU to even greater heights — in research, infrastructure, faculty recruitment, and student welfare — for the overall growth of the state and the larger interest of our students.”
Further, AAPSU has reiterated its demand for the immediate appointment of a regular VC at Arunachal Pradesh University (APU), Pasighat — the lone State University of Arunachal Pradesh.
“Now that the Centre has shown it can act on this issue at RGU, we expect the same urgency for APU Pasighat. The post has been vacant since February and advertised since August last year — that is too long for a state university to remain without a full-time head. We demand that a regular Vice Chancellor be appointed at APU before the commencement of the next academic session, so that admissions, academic planning, and administrative decisions are not left in limbo,” Taku said in a release.