Image Courtesy: Indian Express

New Delhi: Jamia Millia Islamia University has appointed Najma Akhtar as its vice-chancellor, the first woman to hold the post in the university’s nearly 100-year-long history.
 
She replaced Talat Ahmad, who resigned from the post last year before completion of his tenure. Akhtar’s appointment as Jamia Millia Islamia’s vice-chancellor was approved by President Ram Nath Kovind, the university said Thursday. She has been appointed for a period of five years.
 
Following a selection committee meeting, the HRD ministry had sent three names to the president for taking a call on one. Along with Akhtar, two other names—Furqan Qamar, secretary general of Association of Indian Universities, and S.M. Ishtiaque, a professor at IIT Delhi—were sent to the president earlier this year.
 
The President of India is the visitor (head) of all central universities.
 
“In exercise of powers conferred under Statutes of Jamia Millia Islamia Act, 1988, the President of India, in his capacity as the Visitor of the JMI, has been pleased to appoint Prof Najma Akhtar, NIEPA, New Delhi as the vice-chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, for a period of five years,” said an official order.
 
A widely acclaimed educationist, Professor Akhtar is also the first lady vice chancellor of any central university in Delhi.
 
She is known for spearheading international educational administrators’ course for senior officials from 130 countries for more than 15 years at National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), reported PTI.
 
A widely acclaimed educationist, Prof. Akhtar is a gold medalist from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and completed her PhD (Education) from Kurukshetra University.
 
She held posts of faculty and Controller of Examinations and Admissions and Director, Academic Programmes at AMU.
 
She was the founder director of State Institute of Educational Management and Training (SIEMAT), Uttar Pradesh, which was established for developing educational administrators for the country.
 
She has earned international accolades, including Commonwealth scholarship and the prestigious National Science Talent scholarship.
 
She studied in international institutes such as University of Warwick and Nottingham UK and IIEP Paris (UNESCO).
 
She has been involved in collaborative research works with developing and developed countries.
 
She has been actively consulted by UNESCO, UNICEF, DANIDA and other international organisations.
 
Gender Equity has been part of most of her projects, the varsity said.
 
The other persons, who were shortlisted by the government for the post were S M Ishtiaque of IIT-Delhi and Furqan Qamar, currently the secretary-general of Association of Universities.
 
Manipur Governor Najma Heptulla is the chancellor of the varsity.
 
Jamia Millia Islamia was originally established at Aligarh in 1920 and became a central university by an act of the Indian Parliament in 1988.
 

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