NEW DELHI: The Centre on Thursday carried out a major reshuffle in the education ministry, appointing senior IAS officer Naresh Pal Gangwar as secretary of the department of higher education and T K Anil Kumar as secretary of the department of school education and literacy, amid continuing protests over the alleged NEET paper leak.According to an order issued by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), Gangwar, a 1994-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, will replace Vineet Joshi as secretary of the department of higher education. Joshi, a 1992-batch IAS officer of the Manipur cadre, has been appointed secretary in the ministry of panchayati raj.Gangwar was serving as secretary in the department of animal husbandry and dairying under the ministry of fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying. An engineer by training, he holds a BTech in Electronics and Communication from the University of Roorkee, an MTech in Communication from IIT Delhi, and an MA in Economics from the University of Rajasthan. He has previously served in several senior positions in the Rajasthan government and the Centre, including principal secretary in Rajasthan and joint secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.The ACC also appointed T K Anil Kumar, a 1996-batch IAS officer of the Karnataka cadre and additional secretary in the Ministry of Rural Development, as secretary of the Department of School Education and Literacy.The government order did not cite any reason for the appointments. The reshuffle comes amid continuing protests by the CJP and students over the alleged irregularities in the NEET examination, with demonstrators demanding accountability and reforms in the examination system.
