Rajesh Chaturvedi appointed CBSE chairman

A few days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi rejected former Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani’s choice for the post of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) chairman, the government on Thursday appointed senior bureaucrat Rajesh Chaturvedi as the board’s chief.

The CBSE chief post was vacant for the past one-and-a-half years, after Vineet Joshi had completed his tenure and returned to his parent cadre. Chaturvedi, a Madhya Pradesh-cadre IAS officer of 1987 batch, was appointed the CBSE chief by the Prime Minister-led Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC).

The Centre had conveyed to the HRD Ministry on Wednesday that Central Staffing Scheme (CSS) would be applied in the appointment of new CBSE chief. Thus, the Prime Minister personally chose Chaturvedi to lead the board, which conducts the crucial board examinations and some top entrance tests for competitive exams.

HRD Joint Secretary YSK Seshu Kumar has been given the additional charge of CBSE. Prior to Kumar, Satbir Bedi was at the helm of affairs. Interestingly, prior to pitching for Sarvendra Vikram Bahadur Singh as the CBSE boss, Irani had pushed for Bedi as the board’s chief, which was also rejected by the PMO, citing some ‘procedural’ issues.

Chaturvedi’s appointment comes as a shot in the arm for Javadekar, who has just taken charge over the HRD Ministry. Sources said the ACC did not accept the proposal in the name of Sarvendra Vikram Bahadur Singh, which was forwarded by HRD Ministry when Irani was at the helm of affairs. Singh was Irani’s top choice for the position and the ministry had earlier this year forwarded his name to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). “The ACC has not accepted the proposal to appoint Singh as the CBSE chief. In the meeting it was decided that the post will be filled under the CSS,” an HRD Minister official said.