India's Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday after weeks of nationwide, youth-led protests over alleged leaks and irregularities in highly competitive entrance examinations. The departure is the first major concession by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to the movement, which had made Pradhan's removal its central demand.
Pradhan announced that he had submitted his resignation to Modi in a social media post. He acknowledged irregularities in the NEET-UG medical entrance examination held on May 3 and said the government had transferred the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation, cancelled the test and arranged a new examination for more than two million candidates on June 21.
The protests were organised by the satirical Cockroach Janta Party and grew from demands for education reform into a broader campaign focused on unemployment, corruption, economic opportunity and government accountability. Students, professionals, families and activists joined demonstrations in New Delhi and other cities, according to the Associated Press.
Tensions escalated when police used tear gas and batons against thousands of demonstrators attempting to march towards Parliament on July 20. Reuters reported that police again fired tear gas as Pradhan announced his resignation. The government had already promised fast-track courts for exam-leak cases, while the cabinet approved a draft law providing prison terms of up to 10 years and fines of up to 100 million rupees.
Hours after the resignation, protest leaders said they would end their agitation in good faith following talks with federal ministers. Al Jazeera reported that the movement also received assurances on compensation for families of students who died by suicide in connection with the exam crisis and on avoiding punitive action against participants in the protests. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi welcomed the resignation but called for accountability over the police response.
Pradhan, a senior member of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party and a cabinet minister since 2014, had led the education ministry since 2021. The government plans to move the medical entrance test to computer-based delivery next year, while investigations and proposed legal reforms remain pending. The resignation leaves Modi to choose new leadership for a ministry facing intense scrutiny over the credibility of national examinations.
Comments