Another education minister resigned amid corruption row before Dharmendra Pradhan — but not in India
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Another education minister resigned amid corruption row before Dharmendra Pradhan — but not in India")
Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Photograph: (ANI)
ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry resigned after an Integrity Commission found serious corrupt conduct by two senior public servants in her portfolio, despite clearing her of wrongdoing. Her resignation contrasts with India, where students demanded Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.
This week, another Education Minister resigned apart from Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. This was far from Indian subcontinent where students took to streets to demand Pradhan's resignation for paper leak of country's most important medical entrance examination. Though Pradhan finally caved into the demands by the students on Jul 25, his story of leaving the portfolio is being compared to the education minister in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Yvette Berry.
Why did the Australian politician resign?
Berry resigned from cabinet after an Integrity Commission made “serious corrupt conduct” findings against two senior public servants in her portfolio. What made her story worth quoting is the fact that Berry resigned despite that commission having cleared her of any involvement in the case. According to an ABC report, the corruption involves public officials illegally tampering with an $18.2 million school contract to favour a real estate company, Landlease.
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“The Commission found that former Education Directorate director-general Katy Haire and Ms Berry’s former chief of staff Joshua Ceramidas dishonestly created a “back door” for Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) interests to influence the procurement. Two tender evaluation teams had recommended construction company Manteena as the preferred contractor, but the $18.2 million contract was ultimately awarded to real estate company Lendlease instead,” reportedCanberra Daily.
Berry was a big name in ACT's politics and is even considered a successor to incumbent CM. She has been the longest serving deputy chief minister in the ACT’s history, since 2016.
