federal minister of education Dharmendra Pradhan He resigned from the Union Council of Ministers on Saturday amid ongoing protests over the alleged leak of National Eligibility and Undergraduate Entrance Test (NEET UG) question papers.In a letter to his “young friends”, Pradhan said he had submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in view of the situation unfolding at Jantar Mantar and across the country.His resignation ends his tenure as minister, during which he oversaw the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and multiple reforms in higher education, schooling and skills development.
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However, Pradhan’s political journey began in Odisha’s student politics long before entering the Union Cabinet.
Early life and education
Dharmendra Pradhan was born on June 26, 1969 in Talcher, Orissa, into a political family. His father Debendra Pradhan was a bjp (Bharatiya Janata Party) leader and former Union Minister of State.Pradhan completed his schooling and higher education in Odisha. He studied at Talcher College and then received an MA in Anthropology from Utkal University, Bhubaneswar.During college, he was actively involved in student politics. He served as president of Talcher College’s student body, an early leadership role that marked the beginning of his political career.
Get involved in student politics
Pradhan and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a student organization affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), shaped his early political career.After his career in campus politics ended, he continued to work with the organization and later became its national secretary.His years with the ABVP provided organizational experience before entering electoral politics through the BJP.
transition to electoral politics
Pradhan entered electoral politics in 2000 and was elected as Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Palahara constituency in Odisha.Four years later, he was elected to the 14th Lok Sabha from Deoghar, marking his entry into national politics.He subsequently served as a member of the Lok Sabha and held various organizational responsibilities within the Bharatiya Janata Party before joining the federal government.
ministerial career
Pradhan became a member of the Narendra Modi-led Union government in 2014 when he was appointed Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum and Natural Gas.In 2017, he was promoted to the position of Minister of Petroleum and Gas in the Cabinet, responsible for handling policy decisions related to the country’s energy sector.After the cabinet reshuffle in 2021, he served as the federal education minister and skill development and entrepreneurship minister.As education minister, Pradhan will oversee the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020, expand skill development programs and oversee policies related to schools and higher education.
From campus leadership to coalition cabinet
Pradhan’s political career spanned student leadership, organizational responsibility, state politics and parliament before being appointed to the federal cabinet.He started out as a student leader at Talcher College and went on to head the BJP, Odisha Legislative Assembly, Lok Sabha and Lok Sabha before taking charge of key ministries in the federal government.His resignation as federal education minister marks the latest chapter in a political journey that began on a college campus in Odisha and later expanded to some of the most important ministerial posts in the country.
