G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India
The Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology Campus appears impressive today with its well-tended fields, a network of roads, housing colonies, street lighting, a telephone exchange, hospitals, marketing centres, a water supply section, 6 primary schools and 3 secondary schools. The main campus lies in Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand at 29 N latitude and 79 E longitude at an elevation of 243.8 m above the mean sea level. This main campus has the area responsibility for the entire Uttarakhand, representing plains, Tarai, Bhabar and hill areas. However, to provide service to the hill region, its other stations are situated at Ranichauri (Tehri district), Majhera (Nainital district) and at Lohaghat-Sui (Champavat district). There are 763 teachers and officers, 59 technical staff, 631 administrative and ministerial personnel and 1425 class III employees, amounting to a total strength of 2878. The number of students in the University ranges between 4200-4400. Thus, the teacher taught ratio is about 1:6.
History
After independence, the development of the rural sector was considered the primary concern of the Government of India. In 1949, with the appointment of the Radhakrishnan University Education Commission, imparting agricultural education through the setting up of rural universities became the focal point. Later, in 1954, an Indo-American team led by Dr. K.R. Damle, the Vice-President of ICAR, was constituted that arrived at the idea of establishing a Rural University on the land-grant pattern of the USA. As a consequence, a contract between the Government of India, the Technical Cooperation Mission and some land-grant universities of the USA was signed to promote agricultural education in the country. The US universities included the University of Tennessee, the Ohio State University, the Kansas State University, the University of Illinois, the Pennsylvania State University and the University of Missouri. The task of assisting Uttar Pradesh in establishing an agricultural university was assigned to the University of Illinois, which signed a contract in 1959 to establish an agricultural University in the State. Dean, H.W. Hannah, of the University of Illinois, prepared a blueprint for a Rural University to be set up at the Tarai State Farm in the district of Nainital, UP. In the initial stage, the University of Illinois also offered the services of its scientists and teachers. Thus, in 1960, the first agricultural university of India, UP Agricultural University, came into being by an Act of legislation, UP Act XI-V of 1958. The Act was later amended under the UP Universities Re-enactment and Amendment Act 1972, and the University was rechristened as Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, keeping in view the contributions of Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant, the Chief Minister of UP. The University was dedicated to the Nation by the first Prime Minister of India, Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, on 17 November 1960.
The G.B. Pant University is a symbol of a successful partnership between India and the United States. The establishment of this university brought about a revolution in agricultural education, research and extension. It paved the way for the setting up of 31 other agricultural universities in the country.