Modi's yoga guru heads UGC chairman selection panel, shortlists 4 candidates

Who is HR Nagendra?

Nagendra received a doctorate in mechanical engineering from IISc, Bangalore. He also served as a consultant at Havard University and was a part of the visiting staff at Imperial College, London.

74-year-old Nagendra has been Prime Minister Modi personal yoga instructor for the past several years. Even before the latter became the Prime Minister, he was taught by Nagendra in Gujarat. Apart from Modi, Nagendra has also taught yoga to some members of the Union Cabinet.

Despite his proficiency in yoga, how Nagendra ended up as the chairman of the selection committee for the UGC – the main grant giving body for higher education in India – is inexplicable.

Even people within the UGC questioned the HRD ministry's decision to appoint Nagendra as the head of the selection committee.

“It was baffling when we were told that a yoga instructor is being made the head of UGC chairman selection panel. It doesn’t make much sense,” an official within the UGC told Catch on the condition of annonymity.

Catch has also learnt that last month that the Nagendra-led selection committee submitted four names to HRD minister Prakash Javadekar for UGC chairman's post. According to sources, the four shortlisted names include National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) chairman DP Singh, Former Vice-Chancellor of Himachal Pradesh University ADN Bajpai, Delhi Technological University vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh and V Tawde from Maharashtra.

The selection process by the SCSC is over and the UGC chairperson will be decided by the HRD minister from between the four names.

Other than Nagendra, the SCSC also had former Lucknow University vice-chancellor D P Singh and former head of Saurashtra University KP Joshipura as members..

The process for appointing UGC chairperson and vice-chairperson has been underway since January 2017. The position of the UGC chairman has been vacant since the previous chairman Ved Prakash demitted office on April 3. He was appointed on January 18, 2013 with a condition that his tenure will be for five years or until he is 65, whichever was earlier. He was appointed during the UPA's tenure. 

The post of chairman and vice-chairman will be a significant one in the current circumstances since a committee has been set up to review all existing UGC regulations and recommend scrapping of obsolete ones. The new chairperson will also spearhead the process of restructuring the UGC, as announced in the Budget. This process is expected to radically change higher education in the country, though whether it will be for the good is still a moot point.

The UGC is working to encourages autonomy in universities and even privatise higher education centres in the country.

Given the consequences of this exercise, it seems strange that the government chose to appoint a yoga instructor and not someone with a background in higher education as the head of the panel to select the UGC chairman.

The appointment of his yoga instructor will also provide a stick to Modi's critics to accuse him of favouritism – something he claims stand against.