Dr Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, who was just appointed as the Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) on February 4, said that his immediate focus will be on "speedy implementation of National Education Policy".

Dr Kumar has been serving as the Vice-Chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) since 2016. He said that he is looking forward to "work for the young minds" of the country. "As Chairman of the UGC, this is a great opportunity for me to work for the young minds of our country in Higher Educational Institutes. My immediate focus is going to be speedy implementation of National Education Policy, enabling the research and innovation ecosystem in HEIs and making higher education more inclusive and accessible using technology," he said. "I look forward to working with students, teachers and heads of higher educational institutions across the country," added Dr Kumar.

Higher Education Secretary K Sanjay Murthy was on additional charge as the Chairman of UGC since Dr DP Singh retired from the post. Dr Kumar was also the contender for the post of IIT Delhi Director. Pune University Vice-Chancellor Prof Nitin R Karmalkar and Director of Inter-University Accelerator Centre (IUAC) Prof Avinash Chandra Pandey were also in the race for the post of UGC Chairman.

The Ministry of Education, in a notification, declared the appointment of Dr Kumar for the post for the next five years or till he turns 65 years of age — whichever is earlier.