Who is Naima Khatoon, Aligarh Muslim University's first woman Vice-Chancellor?

-, Apr 23, 2024, India Blooms News Service

Aligarh/New Delhi/IBNS: In its history of 123 years, the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) got its first woman Vice-Chancellor in the form of its Professor Naima Khatoon on Monday, media reports said.

AMU has become the third central university after Jamia Millia Islamia and Jawaharlal Nehru University to have a woman Vice-Chancellor.

Khatoon was appointed by the Ministry of Education with the approval of President Droupadi Murmu.

The permission was also sought from the Election Commission of India (ECI) as the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is in place due to the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

Khatoon, a Phd. in Psychology from AMU, joined the same institution in 1988 as a lecturer and continued holding the post until she was promoted to a Professor in 2006.

For 8 years, Khatoon continued as the AMU Professor until she became the Principal of the Womens College in 2014.

Khatoons husband Professor Mohammad Gulrez became the acting Vice-Chancellor of the university after Tariq Mansoor resigned from the post.

Khatoon being selected as one of the probables to become the Vice-Chancellor had stirred a row last year as her husband also chaired the meeting triggering the conflict of interest debate.

In 1920, Begum Sultan Jahan was appointed as the AMU Chancellor. Jahan has remained the only woman to hold the post of one of the countrys oldest universities.

Najma Akhtar and Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit were appointed as the first Vice-Chancellors of the Jamia Millia Islamia and JNU in 2019 and 2022 respectively.