Twelve Central Universities, including JNU, DU and BHU, may finally get a VC next week: Sources

Twelve of the central universities across the country which have not had a Vice-Chancellor for a while, might see permanent appointments to the posts by next week, say Ministry of Education sources. These include several and more which are being run by acting Vice-Chancellors or VCs on extension. More than 20 central universities including Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Delhi, University of Hyderabad and Banaras Hindu University have been operating without a regular VC for the past few months.

The official privy to the information said that the appointments have been delayed due to various reasons ranging from elections to dealing with the pandemic. "The VCs of at least 12 universities are supposed to be appointed this week. The appointments got delayed because the government was busy with elections and handling the pandemic," said the official. "The ministry had even cancelled a meeting back in February," they added.

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The University of Delhi had been embroiled in controversy ever since its former VC Dr Yogesh Tyagi was suspended and has not got a permanent replacement yet. JNU VC Dr Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar has had a varied set of allegations brought against him by both the Students' Union and the Teachers' Association over the years and the teachers have also been protesting about how he has not been replaced even though his term ended in January this year.

But out of all the VCs who are officiating in these central universities, Dr Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar stands out, said a source at the university. "He is on extension and enjoys a lot more power than just an officiating VC like in DU," they added.