Najma Akhtar (born 1953) is an Indian academic and academic administrator. Since April 2019, she has been the Vice Chancellor of the

Jamia Millia Islamia Jamia Millia Islamia () is a central university located in New Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British Raj in 1920, it moved to its current location in Okhla in ...

, an Indian university. She is also the first woman to hold the post in JMI.

Education

Akhtar was born in 1953. She studied at

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...

, where she was a gold medalist and earned a National Science Talent Scholarship. She has a PhD in Education from

Kurukshetra University Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra (KUK) is a university established on 11January 1956 in Kurukshetra, in the Indian state of Haryana, from the capital, Delhi. It is a member of Association of Commonwealth Universities. History The univer ...

. She received a

Commonwealth Fellowship The Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP) is an international programme under which Commonwealth governments offer scholarships and fellowships to citizens of other Commonwealth countries. History The plan was originally proposed b ...

to study University administration at the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...

in the UK and also trained at the International Institute of Educational Planning at Paris (France).

Career

Akhtar worked for fifteen years at the

National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration is a research focused university located in New Delhi, India. The Institute was set up by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (now known as Ministry of Education), Government ...

, leading courses for senior officials from 130 countries. She established the first state-level management institute at

Allahabad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...

and was the Controller of Examination and Director of Academic Programs at Aligarh Muslim University. She has been a consultant to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

and

DANIDA Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) is the brand used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark when it provides humanitarian aid and development assistance to other countries, with focus on developing countries. There is no dist ...

. In April 2019, the

Ministry of Human Resource Development The Ministry of Education ( MoE; formerly the Ministry of Human Resource Development from 1985 to 2020) is a ministry of the Government of India, responsible for the implementation of the National Policy on Education. The Ministry is further di ...

received approval from the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

Ram Nath Kovind Ram Nath Kovind (; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician who served as the 14th President of India from 2017 to 2022. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the second person after K. R. Narayanan, from the Dalit community ...

, to appoint Akhtar as vice chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia for a five year term. Akhtar has been an advocate for

gender equity Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

and is known for leading teams of diverse cultural backgrounds. She said her goal is to establish a medical college at Jamia during her tenure. Of her appointment as the first female vice chancellor in the university's 99 year history, she said, "My aim was not to break the glass ceiling but I was definitely against the glass ceiling. Why is it even there, if you hold the same educational qualifications and experience?” In 2022, Akhtar was awarded with

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

by the Government of India.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akhtar, Najma 1953 births 20th-century Indian women scientists 21st-century Indian women scientists Heads of universities and colleges in India Jamia Millia Islamia faculty Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Women academic administrators