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The Indian government has transferred Education Secretary Vineet Joshi amid growing protests and political criticism over alleged examination paper leaks, including the controversy surrounding the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).
According to an official government notification issued late Thursday, Joshi has been appointed Secretary of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
He will be replaced by Naresh Pal Gangwar, who was serving as Secretary in the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
TK Anil Kumar, currently Additional Secretary in the Department of Rural Development, has also been appointed Secretary of the Department of School Education and Literacy.
Joshi had assumed charge as Secretary of the Department of Higher Education in January 2025.
The changes were part of a wider bureaucratic reshuffle involving 13 appointments and four in-situ upgrades.
The reshuffle comes amid continuing protests and demands for accountability over alleged examination paper leaks.
Opposition parties and the satirical political outfit Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) have criticised the government over the issue.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey linked Joshi’s transfer to the government’s response to the controversy, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken action against officials accused of negligence.
“Prime Minister Modi has replaced the Education Secretary for showing apathy regarding the paper leak issue.
Strict action will be taken against those responsible for the paper leak, as well as those who displayed negligence or apathy,” Dubey said.
A 1992-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Manipur cadre, Joshi previously served as Chief Secretary of Manipur.
He was also the founding Director General of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts major entrance examinations including NEET and the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).
His previous positions included Chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Education.
He holds a mechanical engineering degree from IIT Kanpur and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade.
His successor, Gangwar, is a 1994-batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre. Before his latest appointment, he served as Secretary in the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
