&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "'Most important foundation': Dharmendra Pradhan's long note on 'school education' amid calls for his resignation")
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday night (Jul 22) took to social media and said that he addressed a two-day conference of Education Ministers from various states. Pradhan highlighted that it is the duty of both Centre and States to strengthen the school education. His post comes as calls grow for his resignation over examination paper leaks. He also shared a post stating that he met leaders from Odisha in the Parliament and discussed about the welfare of the state.
He said that the goal of Centre and States should be to “build a future-ready, inclusive and high-quality school education system”, that aligns with the vision of National Education Poilcy (NEP) 2020. He highlighted initiatives including Samagra Shiksha, PM SHRI, NIPUN Bharat, PM POSHAN and ULLAS and added that States and UTs should work together to improve foundational literacy and numeracy. He called for greater focus on innovation and the holistic development of every learner and urged States to promote children’s mother tongue. He said that the efforts are aimed at contributing to the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.
Pradhan's reaction so far
Pradhan reacted on NEET protest for the first time on the evening of Jul 21 after Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi staged a protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence. He accused Gandhi of “exploiting students.” Pradhan on Jul 20, the day when New Delhi erupted in chaos amid Parliament march and police crackdown, posted a spiritual message and video along with hashtag #ShikshaSubhashitam. On Jul 23, he reshared Prime Minister Narendra Modi's post announcing the setting up of fast-track courts.
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Also Read: 'Nothing is more important than...': PM Modi announces BIG decision as Delhi student protest grows
Dharmendra Pradhan was once a student leader
Notably, Dharmendra Pradhan too was a student leader who led protest against paper leak. Pradhan joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) as a student activist in 1983 while studying at Talcher College in Odisha and went on to become the President of the Talcher College Students' Union in 1985. Within 10 years, he rose up the ranks and was appointed the National Secretary of the ABVP in 1995. Two years later, in 1997, he, as a student leader took to streets of Odisha leading a massive protest against state-level question paper leak and examination irregularity scandal. He led a rally of approximately 1,500 students directly to the State Secretariat in Bhubaneswar. He was injured too.
Protest at Jantar Mantar
New Delhi's Jantar Mantar protest has swelled, specially after police crackdown on Jul 20. Amid demands by the students for greater accountability from the government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Jul 22 announced that fast-track courts will be formed to punish the paper leak mafia. However, thousands of people are joining the protest in New Delhi that was initially started by CJP - a satirical platform formed online after India's Chief Justice Surya Kant called unemployed youths of the country as “cockroaches” while hearing a case. Despite the Prime Minister's statement, CJP said that their demand is resignation of the Union Education Minister and they won't end the protest till Pradhan resigns.
