Naima Khatoon appointed vice chancellor of AMU; third central varsity to get its first woman VC

Naima Khatoon appointed vice chancellor of AMU; third central varsity to get its first woman VC

NEW DELHI: Professor Naima Khatoon, Professor/ Principal, Women’s College has been appointed as the new vice chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) on Monday. She became the first woman VC in the history of 123-year-old university. With this AMU became the third central university to get its first women VC, after Jamia Millia Islamia and Jawaharlal Nehru University.

According to a senior government official, Khatoon was appointed by the ministry of education following the approval from President Draupadi Murmu, who is Visitor to the university. Permission from the Election Commission of India (ECI) was also sought in view of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) being in place, said the source.

In the letter to the university from the Centre, it was stated, “…to state that in exercise of powers conferred … the President of lndia, in her capacity as the Visitor of AMU, has been pleased to appoint Prof. Naima Khatoon, Professor/ Principal, Women’s College, as the Vice-Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University for a period of five (5) years from the date on which she enters upon his office or the date on which she completes seventy years of age, whichever is earlier.”

“The ECI has stated that the commission has no objection from MCC angle to the proposal related to appointment of AMU VC subject to the condition that no political mileage be derived from it,” the official said.

In April 2019 Najma Akhtar and in February 2022 Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit was appointed as the first women VC of Jamia Millia Islamia and Jawaharlal Nehru University respectively by the Centre.

A PhD in psychology from AMU, Khatoon was appointed as a lecturer in the same department in 1988, before being elevated as professor in 2006. She continued there before joining as principal of the Women’s College in 2014.

Founded in 1875, Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College became Aligarh Muslim University in 1920, following the Aligarh Muslim University Act.

One of the oldest universities in India, while there has been no woman VC so far, in 1920 Begum Sultan Jahan was appointed the Chancellor and she continues to be the only woman to have held that post at AMU.

Khatoon’s husband Professor Mohammad Gulrez is the acting VC of the university since last year after then VC Tariq Mansoor, had resigned from the post as he was nominated as a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council.

However, Khatoon being among the shortlisted ones for the top post had triggered a controversy in October last year with a section of university officials alleging conflict of interest as her husband also chaired the meeting

On October 30, 2023, the 27-member Executive Council (EC), the university’s highest decision-making body, chose five names of the 20 eligible — there were a total of 36 applicants for the post of VC.

In a letter to President Droupadi Murmu, Mujahid Beg, one of the 36 applicants, whose name was not picked by the EC, had called for setting aside the panel and “re-initiate the process’ afresh.”

“Surprisingly the VC not only chaired the meeting of the EC but also voted for his wife. Another blow to free and fair elections…The VC did not declare his impartiality in respect of the candidates, so as to dispel any justifiable doubt about his independence and the impartiality of the proceedings, as his own wife is one of the candidates staking her claim for the post of Vice Chancellor,” Beg had said.

Apart from Khatoon, the other names recommended by the EC were legal scholar and former VC of Nalsar, Hyderabad, Faizan Mustafa; biochemist and VC of Srinagar’s Cluster University Qayyum Husain; noted cardiologist and AMU professor M U Rabbani; and Jamia management professor Furqan Qamar.

For more news like this visit TOI. Get all the Latest News, City News, India News, Business News, and Sports News. For Entertainment News, TV News, and Lifestyle Tips visit Etimes