4 Education Ministers In 12 Years: A Timeline Since BJP Came To Power In 2014

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has resigned from his post after facing criticism over the NEET-UG paper leak controversy. Pralhad Joshi has been given the additional charge of the Ministry of Education, becoming the new Union Education Minister of India.

With his resignation, the Education Ministry has now seen five leaders handling the portfolio during the BJP-led government's 12-year rule – Smriti Irani, Prakash Javadekar, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank', Dharmendra Pradhan, and now Pralhad Joshi.

Smriti Irani (2014–2016)

Smriti Irani became the Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD) in May 2014 after the BJP-led government came to power. At that time, the ministry was responsible for education-related policies and was later renamed the Ministry of Education in 2020.

One of the biggest decisions during her tenure was the rollback of Delhi University's Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP), which was introduced in 2013 under the previous government. Irani also began work on drafting the National Education Policy (NEP) and launched the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2015.

However, in 2016, she faced criticism in Parliament over the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) sedition row after protests on the campus led to the arrest of student union president Kanhaiya Kumar. She was also criticised over the Hyderabad University research scholar Rohith Vemula's suicide in January 2016.

Prakash Javadekar (2016–2019)

After Smriti Irani was shifted from the HRD Ministry to the Textiles Ministry in 2016, Prakash Javadekar took charge as the Human Resource Development Minister. One of the biggest decisions during his tenure was the enactment of the IIM Act, 2017, under which all Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) were declared ‘Institutions of National Importance'.

He also established the National Testing Agency (NTA) in 2017 and oversaw changes to the Right to Education (RTE) Act. In 2019, the government amended the law to remove the mandatory ‘No-Detention Policy'.

However, in 2018, the CBSE question paper leak case created a major controversy after the Class 10 Mathematics and Class 12 Economics papers were leaked. Another controversy during his tenure was the selection of the Jio Institute as one of India's six Institutions of Eminence in 2018.

Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank' (2019–2021)

He became the HRD Minister in May 2019. The biggest achievement of his tenure was the approval of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The policy proposed several major changes, including replacing the existing 10+2 school system with a 5+3+3+4 structure.

During Pokhriyal's tenure as Education Minister, several important posts in educational institutions remained vacant. Around half of the 40 central universities, including Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Delhi University, and Hyderabad University, did not have permanent vice-chancellors for months. Similarly, five IITs – IIT Patna, IIT Bhubaneswar, IIT Delhi, IIT Indore, and IIT Mandi – were without full-time directors during this period.

In May 2021, Pokhriyal tested positive for COVID-19 and was later admitted to AIIMS Delhi due to post-COVID health complications. On July 7, 2021, he resigned from the Union Cabinet, citing health reasons.

Dharmendra Pradhan (2021–2026)

Dharmendra Pradhan became the Education Minister in 2021 after Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank' stepped down. He remained in the post for around five years, making him the only Education Minister under the NDA government to serve for more than three years.

During his tenure, Pradhan focused on implementing the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. He supported the idea of teaching students in their mother tongue and other Indian languages. However, he faced criticism over exam paper leaks, the cancellation of important examinations, and other issues related to competitive exams.