By IANS,
New Delhi : Jamia Milia Islamia’s new vice chancellor Najeeb Jung Friday said he would work towards getting better infrastructure for the university instead of focusing on incidents like the Batla House shootout here last year, in which a police inspector and two suspected Islamist militants were killed.
“I do not want to divert my mind to incidents like Batla House. I want to ensure that students are emotionally, socially and educationally comfortable,” Jung told reporters at his first press conference here.
Jung, a former Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer, took over as vice chancellor from Mushirul Hasan, who was also on the panel of those shortlisted for the post.
The new vice chancellor stated that his focus will be on instilling confidence among students coming from distant places and small towns “who are not as confident as their counterparts who study at the north campus (Delhi University) and have been brought up in south Delhi”.
Jung also ruled out the possibility of reviving student elections in the university unless there is an extraneous situation.
Asked whether an academician was better for the job of a vice chancellor, he said: “Jawaharlal Nehru University’s (JNU) first vice chancellor was not an academician but he was very successful” and called such statements as “fallacious arguments”.
Jung, who has served as a joint secretary in the petroleum and natural gas ministry, said he would explore the possibility of starting a course in petroleum and medicine during his term.
He said that he wants to ensure safety of all students and that he has already held a meeting with the senior Delhi Police officials of the area.
“I want to ensure they do not take to the streets. Acts of violence committed on the spur of the moment can harm their careers,” he added.
Jung, a 1973 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer, studied at St. Stephen’s College here and at the London School of Economics.
He left the civil services after serving as joint secretary in the petroleum and natural gas ministry.
Jung had also played a major role in the privatisation of ONGC’s Panna Mukta oilfield that went to a consortium of Reliance-ONGC and British Gas.
He worked with the Manila-based Asian Development Bank before joining the Observer Research Foundation as director of energy research.
Jung was chosen over outgoing vice chancellor Hasan and Bihar’s principal secretary (home) Afzal Amanullah.