With Secretary, Higher Education, R P Agarwal set to retire this month-end, speculation is rife on who will succeed him. Those in the fray include Bhaskar Chatterjee, Principal Advisor, Planning Commission; Rudhra Gangadharan, Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration; K M Acharya, Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment; C Balakrishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Coal; and Jawahar Sircar, Secretary, Ministry of Culture. With the HRD Ministry one of the most high-profile ones in UPA II, the job is enviable. R P Agarwal himself is likely to be accommodated elsewhere. According to sources, he may find a place in the proposed National Commission for Higher Education or the national tribunal for settling of education-related cases.