Dinesh Singh

Early life and background Singh was born to Professor Udita Narayana Singh, former vice-chancellor of the University of Allahabad and pro vice-chancellor of the University of Delhi.

Singh earned his B.Sc. Hons (Maths) in 1975 and M.A. (Maths) in 1977 from St. Stephen's College, followed by M.Phil (Maths) in 1978 from the University of Delhi. He did a PhD in Math from Imperial College London in 1981. He holds numerous honorary doctorates some of them being awarded by University of Edinburgh, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, University College Cork, Ireland,

Career

Singh started his career as lecturer at St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi, in 1981. Thereafter he joined the Department of Mathematics, University of Delhi, in 1987. He was head of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Delhi from December 2004 to September 2005. He served the University of Delhi as a director, South Campus from 2005-2010. He officiated briefly as pro vice chancellor, University of Delhi, before being appointed vice chancellor on 29 October 2010.

DUTA released a 'White Paper' alleging financial irregularities, specifically regarding the diversion of funds intended for OBC students for purchase of laptops or flagging off 'Gyanodaya Express’. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) issued a show-cause notice regarding these charges, which Singh contested. While the government ultimately decided not to process his reply due to his tenure ending, the MHRD later attempted to place Singh on "forced leave" weeks before his term expired. The Visitor (President Pranab Mukherjee) reportedly intervened to stop the forced leave but directed Singh not to continue beyond his term.

Conversely, a group of prominent academics, including former heads of the CSIR and Indian National Science Academy and academics from JNU, Jamia, BHU and former DU vice chancellors, publicly backed Singh, arguing that the government's interference compromised the university's autonomy.

Singh was the primary architect of the controversial Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP). The reform faced severe opposition from students and teachers and was ultimately scrapped by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in 2014. Singh briefly resigned following the rollback but later retracted his resignation.