Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Vice-Chancellor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar was on Friday appointed chairperson of the University Grants Commission (UGC). The related notification was issued by the Ministry of Education (MoE). The appointment has been made for the next five years or till the age of 65 (whichever is earlier). Jagadesh Kumar’s five-year term as the vice-chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University had ended in January 2021. But he is still working as acting JNU VC till the new VC will be appointed.
JNU VC post is still vacant
The tenure of Jagadesh Kumar as Vice-chancellor has ended last year in January. But next VC is yet to be appointed. To date, Jagadesh Kumar was working as acting vice-chancellor of JNU. However, after this process of appointing JNU VC may be accelerated. Other people who were shortlisted for the UGC chairperson post were Professor Nitin R Karmalkar, Pune University Vice-Chancellor, and Professor Avinash Chandra Pandey, director of Inter-University Accelerator Centre (IUAC). The post of UGC chairperson was vacant since December 2021. Professor DP Singh has resigned after turning 65.
Professor Jagadesh Kumar has issued a statement after his appointment as UGC Chairperson. In his statement, he said that as chairman of UGC he will have the great opportunity to work with the young minds of the nation in Higher Educational Institutes. His immediate focus will be the speedy implementation of the National Education Policy to enable the research & innovation ecosystem in HEI (Higher Educational Institutes) and to make higher education more inclusive and accessible by the use of technology. He will look forward to working with students, teachers, and heads of higher educational institutions across the country.
Jagadesh is an alumnus of IIT Madras, Electrical engineering department. He was appointed as Vice-chancellor by President Pranab Mukherjee in January 2016. He was then serving as a professor in IIT Delhi’s Department of Electrical Engineering.
The Government is struggling to Launch the Higher Education Commission of India
It is important to note that Jagadesh Kumar’s appointment when the central government is seen to struggling to launch the Higher Commission of India under the National Education Policy 2020. The HEC is expected to absorb the existing educational regulatory bodies like UGC and AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education).