JNU vice-chancellor Jagadesh Kumar named new UGC chairman

His tenure as the vice-chancellor coincided with the 2016 sedition row, protests against hostel fee increase, and an attack on campus by a masked mob in January 2020

NEW DELHI: Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) vice-chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar was on Friday appointed as chairman of higher education regulator University Grants Commission (UGC).

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) VC M Jagadesh Kumar during an interaction with university students in New Delhi on Saturday. (ANI)

In a notification, the Union education ministry said that Kumar has been appointed for five years from the date of the assumption of charge or until he turns 65 or till further orders, whichever is the earliest.

Kumar’s name was shortlisted for the post along with that of Nitin R Karmalkar, the vice-chancellor of the Pune University, and Avinash Chandra Pandey, director, Inter-University Accelerator Centre, a body under the UGC. The appointment comes amid changes in the higher education sector with the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020.

Kumar is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras. He was a professor at IIT Delhi before he was appointed as the vice-chancellor in 2016. Days before the end of his JNU term in January 2021, the education ministry granted him an extension “until further orders”.

Kumar’s tenure as the vice-chancellor coincided with the 2016 sedition charges against student leaders for allegedly shouting anti-India slogans, protests against hostel fee increase, and an attack on campus by a masked mob in January 2020, which left several students and teachers injured. He remained at loggerheads with students’ and teachers’ unions over issues such as alleged seat cut in research courses, the way meetings of statutory bodies were conducted, and alleged irregularities in faculty appointments.

The appointment process for a new JNU VC is separately underway.