New Delhi: Higher Education Secretary R. Subrahmanyam was Friday shifted to the social justice ministry from the human resource development (HRD) ministry, allegedly over the JNU student protests.
According to an order issued by the Appointments Committee of the union cabinet, Subrahmanyam will now be secretary, Department of Social Justice and Empowerment. Subrahmanyam is a 1985-batch IAS officer and a JNU alumni.
Amit Khare, also a 1985-batch IAS officer, will replace Subramanyam and head both the higher education department and the school education department.
JNU has been witness to student protests since the end of October over a hike in hostel fees, and even though the university has twice offered partial rollbacks, the students have refused to accept them.
The HRD ministry had set up a three-member committee to suggest ways to restore normalcy to the institute and mediate between the students and university administration.
HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal had informed Lok Sabha Monday that the government has not directed any central university to increase fees.
The agitating students were lathi-charged by the police when they had tried to march to Rashtrapati Bhavan to meet the President and urge him to ensure the hike in hostel fee is completely rolled back.
“The HRD secretary was in favour of resolving the issue by keeping the JNU students’ demands in mind. However, the JNU administration was reluctant. And the government was more willing to back the V-C than to resolve the matter,” said a source.
Also Read: Weeks before HRD secretary was removed, Modi govt had quietly shunted out coal secretary
Previous sudden transfers
In July, the Modi government had shifted Subhash Chandra Garg, a 1983-batch IAS officer, from the finance ministry to the less prominent power ministry. Garg subsequently opted for voluntary retirement from the service.
In October, the government had removed school education secretary Rina Ray, a 1984-batch IAS officer, and repatriated her to the AGMUT cadre. According to sources in the government, Ray was removed after some disagreements over policy issues with the PMO.
Also read: Modi govt is very ‘unstable’ for top IAS secretaries, transfers them too often and abruptly