Dharmendra Pradhan Appointed As Education Minister of India

Dharmendra Pradhan is the new Minister of Education. He was appointed as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first cabinet reshuffle in the second term. Mr Dharmendra Pradhan is also vested with the responsibility of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. Earlier, Pradhan served as Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Earlier, Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has resigned as the Union Minister of Education citing health reasons. A day before his resignation, Minister Nishank has announced the much-awaited JEE Main 2021 exam dates for phases 3 and 4. Lok Sabha MP from Maharashtra Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre also resigned as Minister of State for Education ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet rejig. However, the reason behind Sanjay resignation has not revealed.

Lok Sabha MP from Uttarkhand Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank served as the education minister from May 31, 2019, to July 7, 2021. Before taking up the education minister position, Nishank served as the Chief Minister between 2009 and 2011.

During his tenure, the Ministry of Education (MoE)/ Shiksha Mantralaya renamed. President Ram Nath Kovind approved to change the name of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to Ministery of Education on August 18, 2020.

The drafting and implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 believed to be one of the key achievements during Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank tenure. The NEP 2020, which replaced the old policy adopted in 1986, rolled out to make the country an education superpower, particularly in the higher education sector.