The Vice-Chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Dr Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar has been appointed as the new Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) on February 4. Dr Kumar held the position of JNU VC since 2016.

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.

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

Dr Kumar's tenure has not just seen one of the biggest protests of this decade in the form of the fee hike protests, it has also seen numerous allegations by the teachers and the students — some of which have also been criticised and dealt with by the Delhi High Court.