August 1, 2015 4:14:20 am
After A wait of seven months, the Rajasthan University got a full-time vice-chancellor on Friday with the appointment of Jagdish Prasad Singhal.
Singhal, former principal of the Agarwal PG college here, will succeed Dev Swarup, who had quit last November. Divisional Commissioner Hanuman Singh Bhati had been holding the charge of V-C since.
Governor Kalyan Singh appointed Singhal on the basis of recommendations made by the state government’s selection committee. Singhal, who has been the state government’s nominee in the university syndicate, will hold the office for three years or till 70 years of age, whichever comes first.
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“My priorities will be to make the university administration transparent and student-centric,” Singhal said. “I will focus on creating university-industry linkages, greater social engagement and enhanced student-teacher exchange,” he said.
Singhal is also the general secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh, a national organisation associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS).
The organisation was in news last year for not inviting then vice-chancellor Dev Swarup for a two-day seminar it had organised at the university. The seminar was attended by professors and vice-chancellors of several universities across the ocuntry, besides Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani and Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. Swarup quit last year citing difficulties in functioning and non-cooperation on the part of state government.
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