With the removal of Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal and his deputy Sanjay Dhotre, perhaps this is the only Ministry, formerly known as Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry, to have seen five Ministers, including Ministers of State, in Modi’s seven year regime.
While the first tenure from 2014-2019 saw two HRD Ministers, the incumbent Government on Wednesday saw a second Education Minister and his deputy being changed on the basis of performance.
The first removal started with Smriti Irani, whose appointment as HRD Minister in the first instance itself was a big surprise given her lack of parliamentary and administrative experience. Her tenure was marred with several controversies including relating to her educational qualifications, the implementation of four year degree programme at Delhi University, regular confrontation with academics then with her own Ministry officials with some quitting the HRD Ministry and going on leave in protest. Irani, who constituted the Draft Committee on National Education Policy, thus had to revamp the panel on three occasions.
The main opposition party Congress targeted Irani for contesting against Rahul Gandhi in Amethi in 2014. However, in 2019 she defeated Rahul in Amethi. After HRD, Irani was shifted to I&B Ministry were during her tenure a lot of controversies again started brewing. A circular on forming a committee to check “Fake News” was withdrawn by the intervention of the Prime Minister and Irani was shifted to Textiles and Women and Chidl Development Ministry and since then was asked to maintain a low profile.
Irani was replaced by Prakash Javadekar, who always took the middle path in the controversies and advised officials and institutions to better put in practice red tapism than involve in controversy until the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. He too could not do much in university regulations and take ahead the NEP Draft except to overhaul the committee instituted by his predecessor. Javadekar was also given the charge of Information and Broadcasting held by Irani besides the portfolio of Environment Ministry.
His then deputy Upendra Kushwaha had to resign on several charges. He later also quit the NDA.
In Modi’s second tenure, former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriiyal Nishank was politically rehabilitated and appointed as HRD Minister who later went on to become the Education Minister after the HRD ministry was rechristened.
Though no controversies erupted, the Ministry could not work much due to the countrywide lockdown in the wake of pandemic. Nishank too was infected with coronavirus and kept indisposed due to post-covid implications.
His ill health plus his inability to deal with students issues related to several Board and competitive exams, and are said to be the reasons for him being shown the door.