Ministry of Human Resource Development (India):

The Ministry of Human Resource Development is one of the important ministries of the Government of India. The Ministry of Human Resource Development plays a remarkable and remedial role in balancing the socio-economic fabric of the country. The education system of India comes under the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) was created on 26 September 1985 through the 174th Amendment to the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961, which functions through two departments:

  • Department of School Education & Literacy
  • Higher education department

The Department of School Education and Literacy is responsible for the development of school education and literacy in the country and the Department of Higher Education oversees the world's largest higher education system after the United States and China. The Department of School Education and Literacy aims at "Universalisation of Education" and to create better citizens out of the youth. For this, various new schemes and initiatives are launched regularly and more recently these schemes have started paying off in the form of increased enrollment in schools.

On the other hand, the Department of Higher Education is engaged in the task of creating world class opportunities in higher education and research in the country so that Indian students are not left behind on the international stage. For this purpose, the Government has started several joint ventures and signed MoUs to provide the benefit of global vote to Indian students.

Who is called the education minister?

In some countries, the responsible person appointed by the government to deal with educational matters is called the Minister of Education.

Major objectives (functions) of the Ministry of Education:

  • Formulation of National Education Policy and ensuring its implementation in letter and spirit.
  • Planned development, including expanding the reach and improving the quality of educational institutions throughout the country, including areas where people do not have easy access to education.
  • Paying special attention to disadvantaged groups like the poor, women and minorities.
  • To provide financial assistance in the form of scholarship, loan subsidy etc. to the deserving students from the underprivileged sections of the society.
  • To encourage international cooperation in the field of education, including working closely with UNESCO and foreign governments, as well as universities, to increase educational opportunities in the country.

Current Education Minister of India:

The name of the current Education Minister of India is Dharmendra Pradhan, he took the oath of this post on 07 July 2021. Prior to this, he was the Cabinet Minister of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel. Prior to Dharmendra Pradhan, Ramesh Pokhriyal (senior BJP leader) took over as the Education Minister on 30 May 2019.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was the first education minister of India. He served on this post from 15 August 1947 to 22 January 1958.

List of Education Ministers of India (1947–2024):

Name Term
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad 15 August 1947 22 January 1958
Dr. Of. Ale. Shrimali (Minister of State) 22 January 1958 31 August 1963
Humayun Kabir 01 September 1963 21 November 1963
M. C. C. Chagla 21 November 1963 13 November 1966
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed 14 November 1966 13 March 1967
Dr. Trigun Sen 16 March 1967 14 February 1969
Dr. V.K.R. V. Rao 14 February 1969 18 March 1971
Siddhartha Shankar Ray 18 March 1975 20 March 1972
Prof. s. Noorul Hasan (Minister of State) 24 March 1972 24 March 1977
Prof. Pratap Chandra Chander 26 March 1977 28 July 1979
Dr. Karan Singh 30 July 1979 14 January 1980
B. Shankarand 14 January 1980 17 October 1980
S.B. Chavan 17 October 1980 08 August 1981
Sheila Kaul (Minister of State) 10 August 1981 31 December 1984
K.C. Pant 31 December 1984 September 25, 1985
P. V. Narasimha Rao (Prime Minister) September 25, 1985 June 25, 1988
P. V. Narasimha Rao (Prime Minister) 25 December 1994 February 09, 1995
P. V. Narasimha Rao (Prime Minister) 17 January 1996 May 16, 1996
P. Shiv Shankar June 25, 1988 02 December 1989
V.P. Singh (Prime Minister) 02 December 1989 10 November 1990
Rajmangal Pandey 21 November 1990 June 21, 1991
Arjun Singh June 23, 1991 December 24, 1994
Arjun Singh May 22, 2004 May 22, 2009
Madhavrao Scindia 10 February 1995 17 January 1996
Atal Bihari Vajpayee (Prime Minister) May 16, 1996 June 01, 1996
S. R. Bommai June 05, 1996 March 19, 1998
Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi March 19, 1998 May 21, 2004
Shri Kapil Sibal May 22, 2009 28 October 2012
M.M. Pallam Raju 29 October 2012 May 25, 2014
Smriti Irani May 26, 2014 July 05, 2016
Prakash Javadekar July 05, 2016 May 30, 2019
Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' May 30, 2019 07 July 2021
Dharmendra Pradhan 07 July 2021 So far

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Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar had come to Ahmedabad in 1902 AD for his higher education. Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar was an Indian freedom fighter and the first speaker of the Indian Lok Sabha. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Ahmedabad Lok Sabha constituency as a member of the Indian National Congress.

The first international conference on voter education was organized by the Election Commission on 19 October 2016 in New Delhi. The theme of the conference is Voter Education for Inclusive, Informed and Ethical Participation. The main objective of the conference was to share best practices, policies and voter education initiatives by the election management bodies.

Before 1976, education was completely the responsibility of the states, but by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment in 1976, education was also included in the five subjects which were removed from the state list and put in the concurrent list. Significantly, the Center and the States work together on the subjects included in the Concurrent List.

The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002 inserted Article 21-A in the Constitution of India, as a fundamental right to all children in the age group of six to fourteen years to free and Provides for compulsory education.

During the British rule, English medium education was started in India in the year 1835 by Lord Macaulay.

  Last update :  Wed 24 Jan 2024
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