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Education Minister of India

A lot of things have changed in the Education system of India since independence. This article will focus on the duties and responsibilities of education ministers in India.

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Education Ministers play a crucial role in the Education Ministry as they are the one who plans and deals with the needs of the population according to their requirements and then provides them with the solution to their problems.

Our Education Ministers have always worked for the students to have better tomorrow. Since independence literacy rates have gone to 75% in all these years. The education system of India is considered to be more challenging than the American system because, in India, the education system works on every aspect of knowledge given in the world for their growth.

There have been 30 Education Ministers till now. They all have done commendable work in their time as Education Minister of India.

Departments In the Ministry of Education: -The Ministry of Education of India has two departments that contribute to providing the best education to students.

  • The Department of school education and literacy.
  1. The Department of higher education.

These 2 departments play an important role as these both have different functions according to their needs.

The department of school education and literacy. It works under the Ministry of Human Resource Development. They work on providing the best schemes and student welfare programs according to the needs of the nation.

Programs like Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Nationwide Elementary Education come under this department and many more like these.

The Department of school education and literacy works on the development of school education in the nation.

The Department was originally formed in the early 1900s during the British rule, but after gaining the independence the Ministry of Education was created in 1947 with our first Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (15th August 1947- 22nd January 1958) who at that time was also a senior leader of the Indian National Congress.

The Department of Higher Education: – The work of the department of higher education is mainly responsible for improving and giving access to everyone in the secondary and post-secondary education system of the country.

The department has the power to offer grants to the academies and universities they seem worthy of. The grant is given by the UGC (University Grants Commission). UGC works in improving the education quality in higher education universities. UGC has only two responsibilities which are to provide funds and coordination, and determination and maintenance of standards in the institution.

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List of Education Ministers

Maulana Abul kalam azad15 Aug 1947 – 22 Jan 1958
K.L Shrimali22 Jan 1958 – 31 Aug 1963
Humayun Kabir1 September 1963- 21 Nov 1963
M.C Chagla21 Nov 1963- 13 Nov 1966
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed14 Nov 1966-  13 March 1967
Triguna Sen16 March 1967- 14 Feb 1969
V.K.R.V Rao14 Feb 1969 – 18 March 1971
Siddhartha Shankar Ray18 March 1971 – 20 March 1972
S.Nurul hasan24 March 1972- 24 March 1977
Pratap chandra chunder26 March 1977 – 28 July 1979
Karan Singh29 July 1979 -January 1980
B. Shankaranand14 January 1980- 18 October 1980
Shankarrao chavan17 October 1980- 8 August 1981
Sheila Kaul10 August 1981- 31 December 1984
K.C Pant31 December 1984- 25 September 1985
P.V Narasimha rao25 September 1985- 25 June 1988
P. Shiv Shankar25 June 1988- 2 December 1989
V.P Singh2 December 1989- 10 November 1990
Raj mangal pande21 November 1990- 21 June 1991
Arjun singh23 June 1991- 24 December 1994
P.v narasimha rao (REPEATED)25 December 1994- 9 February 1995
Madhavrao scindia10 February 1995- 17 January 1996
P.v narsimha rao (repeated thrice)17 January 1996- 16 May 1996
Atal bihari vajpayee16 May 1996- 1 June 1996
S.r bommai5 June 1996- 19 March 1998
Murli manohar joshi19 March 1998- 22 May 2009
Arjun singh (twice)22 May 2004 – 22 May 2009
Kapil sibal29 May 2009- 29 October 2012
M.m pallam raju30 October 2012- 26 May 2014
Smriti irani26 May 2014 – 5 July 2016
Prakash javadekar5 July 2016 – 30 May 2019
Ramesh pokhriyal30 May 2019- 7 July 2021
Dharmendra Pradhan7 July 2021 – Present

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Frequently asked questions

Get answers to the most common queries related to the UPSC Examination Preparation.

What is the role of the Ministry of Education (MOE) of India?

Ans. The main role of MOE is to provide the best education and resources to everyone by launching p...Read full

Who is the current Education Minister of India?

Ans.  Shri Dharmendra Pradhan is the current Educa...Read full

Who was the first Education Minister of India?

Ans. Maulana Abul Kalam was the first Education Minister of India.

How many female Education Ministers has been there?

Ans:  There were 2 female Education ministers in India.  ...Read full

Names of the Education Ministers who have repeated their service?

Ans:  P.V Narsimha Rao and Arjun Singh have given their years to help students get a better education. ...Read full

What is the role of the Education Minister and Who elects them?

Ans: The role of the education minister is to provide quality education...Read full

Which are different Programs provided by the education minister for the students?

Ans: Midday Meal scheme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Right to Education Act, and many more like these are provided by the...Read full