Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at the ‘Atmanirbhar Mahila Samman’ program in Bhopal. Credit: X/@dpradhanbjp

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan addressing a teachers’ conference in Kolkata on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: ANI

New Delhi:

Amidst the week-long ‘Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav’ celebrations, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday said that the mother tongue remains a key to learning in young children, as it helps them develop their creative and critical thinking.

The Union Minister, penning an article on ‘Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav’, wrote that the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 will serve as a catalyst to reclaim our linguistic pride and how our linguistic diversity will be the cornerstone of educational excellence. He also reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment on preserving the country’s linguistic diversity.

Notably, schools across the country are organising programs under the Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav to promote linguistic heritage and also to commemorate the birth anniversary of Mahakavi Subramania Bharati on December 11.

“Linguistic pride lies at the core of Bharat’s civilisational ethos. All Indian languages are national languages, constituting the soul of Bharatiyata. Linguistic diversity strengthens national unity and helps realise the goal of “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat”. Each one of our people, therefore, must wear linguistic pride as a badge of honour,” Mr Pradhan pointed out.

He stated that 80 per cent of Bharat’s population identifies itself as non-English, native language speakers and hence have a natural trait to master the skills in mother tongue.

“Mother tongue lies at the core of deep learning, because our languages are not just tools of communication — they are repositories of history, tradition and folklore, preserving the collective wisdom of generations and offering a unique worldview,” he wrote.

Further elaborating on how mother tongue facilitates seamless transition, he said, “Children, brimming with creativity and emotional intelligence, flourish when their education begins in their native language. A primer in their mother tongue builds a seamless bridge from the home to the classroom, guiding them from “mother” tongue to “other” tongue — transitioning from speaking to writing, vocabulary to semantics, and language to subject comprehension.”

He further said, “Education in the mother tongue fosters a natural progression from basic understanding to complex thought. Bharat’s linguistic diversity is a treasure-trove of both intellectual and cultural wealth.”

PM Modi also shared the Union Minister’s immersive note on his social media handle while stressing that teaching in mother tongues lays the foundation for deeper learning, fostering creativity and also preserving one’s cultural roots.

Recently, the Union Cabinet expanded the ambit of classical languages by including five more languages – Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

“Though several developed economies suffered badly owing to the COVID crisis, India continued to grow at 7-8% during the last 10 years,” Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Friday (November 15, 2024.)

In his keynote address at the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad, Mr. Pradhan said India is set to become the third largest economy in the world in the next three to four years.

“Several developed economies in the world suffered badly owing to the COVID crisis. Still, we are thriving with a 7-8% growth rate since last decade and we will continue to do that,” he said.

India overtakes U.K. to become fifth largest economy in the world

The Minister of Education said India has a low corporate tax as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is very clear on not getting money to the exchequer by imposing more taxes, but more income in low slabs.

He further said 46% of the global digital payments are happening in India even as 25 crore people have been out of the poverty line.

New Delhi:

The architect of the BJP’s historic third victory in Haryana, Dharmendra Pradhan, is anything but flamboyant. A silent worker who stays in the background, he also is one of the closet aides of the party’s chief strategist Amit Shah.

The Odisha leader, who once handled the crucial petroleum ministry and is now in charge of education, has emerged over the years as the BJP’s go-to person for difficult states and tough electoral battles. Which is how, before Haryana, he was assigned the elections in Uttarakhand in 2017, Uttar Pradesh in 2022. His long-term project was home state Odisha, which the BJP won this year .

He was also the person who was given a single assignment in the 2021 battle for West Bengal — handle Nandigram, the constituency from where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had lost, despite the party’s sweeping victory across the state.

Sources in the BJP said for these reasons, he was the obvious man for the job in Haryana, a state where the party was battling anti-incumbency and multiple disgruntled sections — Jats, farmers, army aspirants unhappy with the Agniveer scheme, party workers shaken by the high-pitched Congress campaign and ultimately, rebels within the BJP unhappy with ticket distribution.

Mr Pradhan’s battle plan, sources said, started with hunkering down at the spot. For over a month, he did not budge from the state, setting up camps at Rohtak, Kurukshetra and Panchkula.

He kept an ear to the ground — listening to party workers and leaders and liaising on their behalf with the Central leadership. He enthused workers, demystified the Congress campaign and helped with the candidate selection.

“He would go to ground zero and hold small meetings… he would take real time feedback from the workers and inform the leadership and rectify the shortcomings immediately. He also pacified the angry people in Haryana, identified the weak booths and adopted strong workers from other parties,” a BJP leader said.  

He even defused the tension that cropped up after the candidates’ list was drawn up. From around 25 rebels, the party had to deal with only three by the time the nomination withdrawal rolled around, BJP sources said. 

“After the announcement of the names of BJP candidates, there came a time when it seemed that the rebel candidates of BJP would spoil the game. More than two dozen rebel leaders were bent on contesting elections. But it was the success of Mr Pradhan and his team that as the date of withdrawal of nomination papers came near, only three rebels were left,” a BJP leader said on condition of anonymity.

His efforts paid off handsomely. The BJP has now won its third straight term in Haryana, emerging victorious in 48 of the state’s 90 assembly seats. The Congress has won 37 seats.

The BJP has done well in Jammu too, winning 29 of the 90 seats in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

New Delhi:

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday firmly refuted allegations that the Preamble of the Indian Constitution has been removed from NCERT textbooks.

In a tweet, Mr Pradhan stated that these claims have no basis and emphasized that, under the National Education Policy (NEP), the NCERT has given due importance to various aspects of the Indian Constitution, including the Preamble, Fundamental Duties, Fundamental Rights, and the National Anthem.

Mr Pradhan criticized those spreading misinformation about the Indian education system, accusing them of playing with the future of children. He argued that the Congress party, inspired by Macaulay’s ideology, has always been antagonistic towards India’s development and education system. He asserted that the Congress’ argument that only the Preamble reflects constitutional values exposes their limited understanding of the Constitution.

“The allegations of removing the Preamble of the Constitution from NCERT textbooks have no basis. For the first time under the National Education Policy, NCERT has given due importance and respect to various aspects of the Indian Constitution – Preamble, Fundamental Duties, Fundamental Rights, National Anthem – in the textbooks…Those who are playing with the future of children and calling the Indian education system rubbish should try to know the truth before spreading lies. Inspired by Macaulay’s ideology, Congress has always hated India’s development and education system. The argument that only the Preamble of the Constitution reflects constitutional values exposes Congress’ understanding of the Constitution,” the minister wrote on X.

“Congress’s cup of sins is full and those who are roaming around these days as ‘fake Constitution lovers’ and waving copies of the Constitution, their ancestors had repeatedly killed the basic spirit of the Constitution. If there is even a little shame and remorse left in the Congress Party, then it should first understand the Constitution, constitutional values and NEP and stop doing petty politics in the name of the children of the country,” the post said. 

Professor Ranjana Arora, Head of the Department of Curriculum Studies and Development at NCERT through a social media post on X said that the understanding that “only the Preamble reflects the Constitution and Constitutional Values is flawed and narrow”.

“The allegations regarding the removal of the Preamble from the NCERT textbooks do not have a sound basis. For the first time, NCERT is giving great importance to various facets of the Indian Constitution- the Preamble, Fundamental Duties, Fundamental Rights and the National Anthem. All these are being placed in various textbooks of various stages. The understanding that only the Preamble reflects the Constitution and Constitutional Values is flawed and narrow,” she wrote.

“Why should children not acquire Constitutional Values from Fundamental Duties, Fundamental Rights and National Anthem along with Preamble? We give equal importance to all of these for the holistic development of children following the vision of NEP – 2020,” she added.

The clarification from the educational body comes amid claims by the opposition of the Preamble being omitted from NCERT textbooks.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The government issued guidelines on the regulation of coaching centers in January this year, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan informed Lok Sabha on Monday, even as he evaded a direct reply to a question on the death of three IAS aspirants in Delhi due to flooding.  

During the Question Hour, Congress MP KC Venugopal mentioned the death of the three students and said the institute had no approved building.  

“Without an approved building, without any facility, some of the coaching centers become mafia… is the government going to take any action?” he said.  Mr Venugopal also raised concerns about students’ suicides.

Quoting information provided by the ministry in an earlier written reply, he said that between 2018-2022, around 80 students committed suicide in top-ranking institutions like IITs and IIMs, adding that caste discrimination is a major reason behind it.  In his response, Mr Pradhan said, “The member has raised a question which is not related to the question put today.”

“But I like to assure the House through you, this government is committed to total socio-psychological and mental protection of all students, whether they are studying in a coaching center, in an institution, school education or higher education,” he said.  

He said exhaustive and detailed guidelines on coaching centers were issued to all states in January, 2024.

“Some states also have regulations, like Rajasthan, Bihar, Goa. They have their own regulations to look into the matter,” he said.  

“Regarding the protection, this is a socio-psychological issue. We all have to take care. This is not an issue to be dealt with through only allegations and answers,” he said.

Three civil services aspirants died on Saturday after the basement of a building housing a coaching centre in central Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar area was flooded following heavy rains.

In his reply to another question, Mr Pradhan dismissed that India was witnessing “brain-drain” with students going abroad for higher education. The students who go outside have made the country proud, he said.

TMC MP Saugata Roy asked if the number of students going abroad is increasing. He said good quality higher education not being available in India was the reason behind the “brain-drain”.  

The education minister asserted the intelligence of Indian students should not be criticised for political reasons, and also said there is no dearth of high quality education institutions in the country.  

He named Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Adobe Systems CEO Shantanu Narayen, and IBM CEO Arvind Krishna among those who came out of the Indian education system. India is proud of them, he said.

“Go to any economic hotspot, Indians are thriving there… We grow due to this connectivity. The globe is shrinking into a village. Depriving our next generation of the good standards of the world is wrong,” he said.  Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, however, said that the top institutions named by the minister are like just a “few islands of excellence in a vast ocean of mediocrity”, and improvement is required.  

Mr Pradhan in reply said he is open to suggestions, and added that the government is stressing on quality education, and there are ranking systems to evaluate it.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

During the discussion on the Union Budget on Monday in the Lok Sabha, Congress MP KC Venugopal highlighted the tragic deaths of three UPSC students in the basement of a coaching centre in Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar and also raised concerns about discrimination against SC/ST students in higher educational institutions.

Highlighting the rising suicides, he noted, “In the Upper House, a Minister answered this question in 2023, stating that from 2018 to 2022, around 18 students committed suicide in higher education institutions, including IITs and IIMs. One of the main reasons is caste discrimination occurring in these institutions. This issue should be urgently considered.”

Mr Venugopal also addressed the issue of safety and regulation in coaching centres across the country, pointing to the recent tragedy in the national capital’s Old Rajinder Nagar.

“The day before yesterday, a very sad incident happened in a coaching centre in New Delhi, where three students lost their valuable lives. This centre, as per media reports, was operating without proper approval or facilities. Some coaching centres have become ‘mafias’. Will the government take any action?” the Congress MP questioned.

In response, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan assured that the government is committed to the socio-psychological and mental protection of all students, regardless of where they study.

“Honourable member has raised a question, which is not related to the question of the day, but I would assure, through you, that this government is committed to socio-psychological and mental protection of all kinds of students, whether they are studying in the coaching centre, institution, school or high educational institutes,” he said, replying to Mr Venugopal.

#BudgetSession2024

Union Education Minister @dpradhanbjp replies to the questions asked by member during #QuestionHour in #LokSabha regarding Suicide Cases of Students in Kota Rajasthan.@ombirlakota@LokSabhaSectt#Budget2024@EduMinOfIndiapic.twitter.com/iPI8gWbajc

— SansadTV (@sansad_tv) July 29, 2024

Regarding coaching centres, he mentioned, “The Government of India issued the latest guidelines in January. There is an exhaustive and detailed guideline for all the states. And a lot of states, including Rajasthan, Bihar, Goa, etc., have their own guidelines and regulations to look into this matter.”

Emphasising that the issue of student suicides and discrimination is complex and not merely a matter of policy enforcement, the Union Education Minister noted, “Regarding the protection, this is a socio-psychological issue that we all have to take care of. This is not an issue to deal with only through allegations and answers.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday accused the opposition of trying to create “anarchy” and “civil unrest” using the NEET-UG issue and said with the Supreme Court verdict related to the controversy-ridden exam, “truth has prevailed”.

The opposition should apologise to students and their parents for “misleading” them, Mr Pradhan said as he announced that the final results for the medical entrance 2024 NEET-UG exam will be declared within two days according to the observations made by the Supreme Court.

The court on Tuesday dismissed the pleas seeking cancellation and re-test of the 2024 NEET-UG, holding that there was no evidence on record to conclude that it was “vitiated” on account of “systemic breach” of its sanctity.

The interim verdict, to be followed by a detailed and reasoned order, came as a shot in the arm for the embattled BJP-led NDA government and the National Testing Agency (NTA), which were facing strong criticism and protests, on streets and in Parliament, over alleged large-scale malpractices like question paper leak, fraud and impersonation in the prestigious test held on May 5.

The revised final results of the exam will be announced taking into account marks of a physics question, which the NTA said had two correct answers. The revised result likely to reduce the number of toppers as 44 out of 61 toppers had shared the top rank because of this.

“The apex court dismissed the pleas seeking cancellation and re-test of the 2024 NEET-UG, holding that there was no evidence on record to conclude that the sanctity of the exam has been violated. Today’s verdict on NEET-UG will put speculation to rest and provide relief to lakhs of hardworking and honest students,” Pradhan told a press conference here.

“The judgement will open the eyes of those who rubbished the Indian examination system and grabbed this opportunity for vested interests, scoring political brownies and stoking ‘civil unrest and anarchy’. They should apologise for playing with the sentiments of lakhs of students and their parents as well as for trying to gain political mileage out of it,” he said.

Hailing the Supreme Court decision, the education minister said “Satyamav Jayate, truth has prevailed”.

“We have been saying this from the beginning that our priority is the students of this country. The government’s priority has always been to see that there should be no tampering with the future of students. For the last 2-2.5 months, the government’s stand has been that there has not been any large-scale breach. Today, the Supreme Court has upheld that in its final judgment,” he said.

The education minister also slammed Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for calling the country’s examination system “rubbish”, and said he and the opposition should apologise to students and their parents.

“When the NEET matter came to light, the opposition’s role became clear after the Supreme Court’s judgement today. The attitude that the Lok Sabha LoP had adopted until yesterday, invalidating the examination system of the country and calling it ‘rubbish’ proves his mental status…Criticising this, Rahul Gandhi ji has criticised India,” he said.

“Misleading the students of the country, creating confusion and provoking them for social tensions were all planned as part of his politics. By rejecting the electoral results in the country, anarchy and civil unrest have become a part of his strategy,” the minister said.

Pradhan said he appeals to Gandhi and all the people of the opposition “who were involved in such irresponsible actions that they should apologise to students, the youth and parents of the country”.

“You have hurt the country, attempted to create anarchy in the country, conspired to have civil unrest in the country. The country will not forgive you. Political rivalry can be different but students belong to everyone,” he said.

The minister said the government’s major concern was students from weaker sections of society and scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and rural students. The apex court also took that into account while pronouncing its decision, he said.

“For us, zero tolerance to any kind of breach is priority when it comes to exams for students. Be it for higher education or jobs. Therefore, the Modi government has brought into effect a strict law like the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act,” he said.

Pradhan said the government has promised the Supreme Court that it will be committed to have a transparent, tamper-free and zero-error examination system.

“Taking this commitment forward, we announced a high-level committee for a complete revamp of the NTA. That committee is working dedicatedly. The committee has collected expert opinions and studied various models…They will submit a report soon,” he said.

On the issue of a controversial physics question that was asked in the examination, the Supreme Court bench accepted the report of the experts of IIT-Delhi that there was only one right answer and not two as alleged by some lawyers.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Even as the Supreme Court deferred its hearing on contrasting petitions seeking a retest for NEET-UG and those opposed to it amid the alleged irregularities in the exam, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met students from both sides and heard their concerns. 

Sources said that during the 30-minute meeting, Mr Pradhan assured the students that injustice will not be allowed to happen to them under any circumstances and that the government is taking a series of steps to ensure that such irregularities do not take place in future exams. 

While some students told the minister that it would be unfair to penalise people who have not indulged in cheating of any sort by asking them to sit for a retest, others said the irregularities were widespread enough to necessitate one.

Nearly 24 lakh students had appeared for the NEET-UG 2024 for undergraduate medical courses, which is conducted by the National Testing Agency, on May 5. The results were announced on June 4, 10 days before schedule, but allegations of question paper leaks and grace marks to over 1,500 students triggered protests. Cases were also filed in courts, including the Supreme Court. 

The education minister told the students that since the matter is now being heard by the Supreme Court, the government will take further action based on its decision. He said the Education Ministry has presented its side before the court and it is now up to the judges to decide. 

In an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, the Centre said that a comprehensive analysis of the results had revealed that there was no large-scale malpractice or evidence of a local set of candidates benefiting. 

The Union government also reiterated its stance that it does not intend to hold a retest of the medical entrance exam. Doing so on the basis of “unsubstantiated suspicions”, it said, would burden nearly 24 lakh students. 

The Centre told the court that it intends to start the counselling process for NEET-UG, which is the final stage for admissions, from the third week of July in four phases. If any candidate is found to have benefited from any irregularity, their counselling will be cancelled in any of the phases or even after, it said. 

In its affidavit, the Centre said the data analysis was carried out by experts from IIT Madras. The data revealed that there is an overall increase in the marks obtained by students, specifically in the range of 550 to 720, and this rise has been seen across cities and centres. 

The Centre said the increase can be attributed to a 25% reduction in syllabus.

In a hearing on Monday, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said it was loathe to order a re-test for nearly 24 lakh students – many of whom come from poor families and could ill afford to spend money travelling to exam centres – unless necessary. A re-test is the “last option”, it said.

“One thing is clear… questions were leaked. The sanctity of the exam has been compromised… this is beyond doubt. Now we have to establish the extent of the leak,” the Chief Justice said.

Another hearing was supposed to be held on Thursday, but it has been deferred to July 18.