Dharmendra Pradhan took oath as Union Minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet for the third term on Sunday, June 9. He has been given the charge of the Ministry of Education.
Previously, Pradhan handled key portfolios in BJP governments. He served as Minister of Education, Skill Development, and Entrepreneurship in Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi's second tenure. He also served as Minister of Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Steel in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.
Pradhan won the Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency in Odisha by defeating Biju Janata Dal's (BJD) Pranab Prakash Das by over 1 lakh votes, as stated by IANS.
What are the challenges ahead for him? Prof Ravikanth K points out a few:
- Paper leaks and general exam issues: From National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test - Undergraduate (NEET UG) paper leak allegations and grace marks issue to Common University Entrance Test (CUET) glitches — Pradhan needs to restore the faith of students in the exams conducted by the Centre by resolving current issues and preventing future ones
- Student suicides: When it is the Kota suicides or death of medicos, students are under a lot of pressure which is compelling them to take the extreme step. Minister Pradhan needs to address these issues
- Hiring in colleges: "SC ST OBC faculty hiring rate remains low- most top IIT IIM, Central & State Univs, etc dragging their feet despite repeatedly being pulled up", he says in his tweet
- PhD scholars' woes: "PhD scholars not getting fellowships on time, scholarship availing is a nightmare", he says
Apart from this implementation of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 also is up in the air. It's been a while and the NEP 2020 is yet to be implemented in its entirety. There are sporadic mentions but no concrete and blanket implementation has happened yet
