Tripura University
(Pursuit of excellence)
 

Tripura university epitomizes the aspirations of the state’s people for academic excellence at the highest level and quest for knowledge. It is axiomatic that knowledge alone forms the basis of progress and development in the present internet-driven world. What, however, is of crucial importance is successful dissemination of knowledge and making it easily accessible to learners. With its cryptic motto ‘pursuit of excellence’ Tripura university has dedicated itself to this noble task ever since it had been launched on October 2 1987. The dream of the state’s people had come true on the birth anniversary day of the ‘Father of the Nation’. A flash-back to the historical background of the university sheds fascinating light on the series of developments that culminated in the setting up of the university. The state’s first institution of higher education, MBB college, had commenced functioning from 1947 with affiliation from Calcutta University but in the immediate aftermath of partition the population of the state registered a steep growth and so did the number of students aspiring for higher education.

The launching of the MBB college was soon followed by the setting up in 1950 of Ram Krishna college in Kailasahar , present headquarter of North Tripura district . The year 1964 saw the launching of Belonia college in South Tripura , followed within three years by the establishment of Ram Thakur college in 1967 at Agartala. The students of the state remained hamstrung by one crucial fact : all the colleges had to secure affiliation with Calcutta University and no scope for university education existed within Tripura.
Since the late sixties of last century student movements within Tripura consistently focused on the demand for expansion of opportunities for higher education and setting of Tripura’s own university . Responding to rising demands Calcutta University authority agreed to have post-graduate classes on History, Mathematics and Economics held in MBB college and in 1976 University Grants Commission (UGC) formally recognized this as Calcutta University Post Graduate Centre (CUPGC). This only further intensified the state’s quest for higher education and demand for a separate university . It however took nine more years to initiate measures for setting up Tripura’s own university. It was on the fateful day of May 18 1985 that the then education minister and legendary tribal leader Dasharath Deb laid the foundation for Tripura University on the sprawling 75 acres of land , donated by the state government , at Suryamaninagar , ten kms south of Agartala. The work on construction progressed rapidly and the state assembly passed the Tripura University Act in 1987 , extending legislative sanction to the process of launching the University. It was on October 2 , birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi , that Tripura University formally came into being as a towering embodiment of the hopes and aspirations of the people .

At present Tripura University provides post-graduate courses on sixteen subjects while the various Departments, Directorates and Centres within it provide 38 degree courses. All twenty four general and technical colleges within the state are affiliated with Tripura University which is now the veritable nerve centre of the state’s higher education , enjoying the highest possible autonomy in all matters.