Deepti Gaur Mukerjee takes charge as govt pushes higher education reforms

The new higher education secretary takes charge amid examination reforms, student unrest and efforts to address long-standing challenges in India's education system

Deepti Gaur Mukerjee, the new higher education secretary, has her tasks cut out amid a larger reform push by the government following the student protests over the NEET-UG paper leak that led to the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

 

The former secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Mukerjee, a 1993-batch Madhya Pradesh-cadre IAS officer, replaces Naresh Pal Gangwar just 17 days after his appointment, which is being seen as considerable churn at the top of the Education Ministry.

 

In July, right after the NEET paper leak controversy, Higher Education Secretary Vineet Joshi was moved to Panchayati Raj, after which Gangwar was appointed on July 23. His appointment was later put in abeyance. The changes followed weeks of student protests over the NEET-UG paper leak. Then Education Minister Pradhan was eventually replaced by Pralhad Joshi.

 

 

This is at a time when the government has formed a task force headed by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani to recommend examination reforms and amended the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, to strengthen provisions against paper leaks and malpractice.

 

The government has also set up fast-track courts for examination malpractice cases. The Centre handed the paper leak case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which filed a chargesheet last week. The National Testing Agency (NTA) has also terminated 47 officials.

 

Sector experts say that fixing examinations will not be enough to reform and repair the education system. Mukerjee will now have to take forward these measures while addressing longer-standing problems in higher education.

 

One of the biggest is the mismatch between what institutions teach and what employers require, which experts say is leading to the larger problem of high youth unemployment.

 

“There is a basic disconnect between what firms want and what the education system is giving,” said Bornali Bhandari, professor at the National Council of Applied Economic Research, adding that students need stronger technical, cognitive and socio-emotional skills.

 

The high cost of higher education and growing dependence on coaching for competitive examinations are other concerns. Competition for seats in leading public universities has pushed many students towards expensive private institutions, while examinations such as NEET and JEE have become closely linked to the coaching industry.

 

A broader rethink is needed rather than expecting changes at the ministerial level alone, said Syed Sultan Ahmed, chairperson of the Association of International Schools of India.

 

Ahmed also flagged the need to preserve the federal structure of education and account for differences in the language, culture, resources and requirements of states. Applying uniform benchmarks across states with widely different capacities can leave some states at a disadvantage, he said.

 

The department will also have to push ahead with the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, including reforms around multidisciplinary education, institutional autonomy, research and employability. The proposed Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, which seeks to overhaul the higher education regulatory system, is another pending reform.

 

Mukerjee has over three decades of administrative experience across the health, education and corporate sectors. Before moving to Corporate Affairs in 2024, she served as chief executive officer of the National Health Authority and as additional secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. In Madhya Pradesh, she held senior positions in the School Education Department and State Education Mission. At Corporate Affairs, she worked on corporate and insolvency regulation, including changes to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.