India is a country with one of the highest numbers of younger populations in the entire globe. With it, comes the responsibility of the government to provide affordable and accessible education to all and leverage the benefits poised by the younger population in the country. India possesses more than 14 lakh schools and has a strength of approximately 95 lakh teachers. Several measures have been taken so far to strengthen the status of the education sector in India. The aim is to enhance gross enrolment rates, reduce teacher absenteeism, better the prospects of higher education, providing equality of opportunity to both boys and girls among various other measures. Several efforts in the same direction are Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, Midday Meals scheme, Operation Digital Board, New India Literacy, Rashtriya Ucchatar Shiksha Abhiyan, and the latest one being New Education Policy.
These programs have been the breakthrough initiatives in the field of education in India. The Ministers of Education have been the force behind such groundbreaking decisions.
The list of Education Ministers of India since independence is as follows
| MINISTER OF EDUCATION | TENURE |
| 1. MAULANA ABDUL KALAM AZAD | 15/08/1947 to 22/01/1958 |
| 2. Dr. K.L. SHRIMALI | 22/01/1958 to 31/08/1963 |
| 3. SHRI HUMAYUN KABIR | 1/09/1963 to 21/11/1963 |
| 4. SHRI M.C. CHAGLA | 21/11/1963 to 13/11/1966 |
| 5. SHRI FAKHRUDDIN ALI AHMED | 14/11/1966 to 13/03/1967 |
| 6. DR. TRIGUNA SEN | 16/03/1967 to 14/02/1969 |
| 7. DR. V.K.R.V. RAO
8. SHRI SIDDHARTHA SHANKAR RAY |
14/02/1969 to 18/03/1971
18/03/1971 to 20/03/1972 |
| 9. PROFESSOR S.NARUL HASAN
10. PROF. PRATAP CHANDRA CHUNDER |
24/03/1972 to 24/03/1977
26/03/1977 to 28/07/1979 |
| 11. Dr. KARAN SINGH | 29/07/1979 to January 1980 |
| 12. SHRI B. SHANKAR ANAND | 14/01/1980 to 18/10/1980 |
| 13. SHRI S.B. CHAVAN | 17/10/1980 to 08/08/1981 |
| 14. SMT. SHEILA KAUL | 10/08/1981 to 31/12/1984 |
| 15. SHRI K.C. PANT | 31/12/1984 to 25/09/1985 |
| 16. SHRI P.V. NARSIMHA RAO | 25/09/1985 to 25/06/1988 |
| 17. SHRI P. SHIV SHANKAR | 25/06/1988 to 02/12/1989 |
| 18. SHRI V.P. SINGH | 02/12/1989 to 10/11/1990 |
| 19. SHRI RAJ MANGAL PANDEY | 21/11/1990 to 21/06/1991 |
| 20. SHRI ARJUN SINGH 23/06/1991 to 24/12/1994 |
| 21. SHRI PV NARSIMHA RAO 25/12/1994 to 09/02/1995 |
| 22. SHRI MADHAV RAO SCINDIA 10/02/1995 to 17/01/1996 |
| 23. SHRI PV NARASIMHA RAO 17/01/1996 to 16/05/1996 |
| 24. SHRI ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE 16/05/1996 to 01/06/1966 |
| 25. SHRI S.R. BOMMAI 05/06/1996 to 19/03/1998 |
| 26. DR. MURALI MANOHAR JOSHI 19/03/1998 to 22/05/2004 |
| 27. SHRI ARJUN SINGH 22/05/2004 to 22/05/2009 |
| 28. SHRI KAPIL SIBAL 29/05/2009 to 29/10/2012 |
| 29. SHRI M.M. PALLAM RAJU 30/10/2012 to 26/05/2014 |
| 30. SMT. SMRITI IRANI 26/05/2014 to 05/07/2016 |
| 31. SHRI. PRAKASH JAVADEKAR 05/07/2016 to 30/05/2019 |
| 32. SHRI RAMESH POKHRIYAL 30/05/2019 to 07/07/2021 |
| 33. SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN 07/07/2021 to PRESENT |
Achievements of some specific Education Ministers
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad has the distinction of being the first person to decorate the seat of the Education Minister of India post-independence. Though he couldn’t get formal education but his visionary attitude made sure that every child in the country gets quality education. This is the reason that his name is associated with some great educational institutions in India (like Maulana Azad Medical College).
Further, Shri Saiyid Nurul Hasan is associated with the setting up of a highly followed “10+2+3” education system.
It was during the tenure of Shri KC Pant, the famous Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) was established.
Now, the focus is on leveraging the benefits of the New Education Policy (NEP) by implementing it at a wider level.
The above-mentioned Education ministers have contributed greatly to the success of the country and to the progress of the education sector specifically. The Ministry of Education was earlier known as the Ministry of Human Resource Development (M/o HRD). It was accorded its present name I.e. the Ministry of Education in pursuance with the adoption of the New Education Policy (NEP). The Ministry is bifurcated into two departments for better coordination and policy formulations. The Department of School Education and Literacy is related to overlooking the primary, secondary, and higher secondary education status among other relevant things. On the other hand, the Department of Higher Education primarily deals with the grade of education at the University level among other functions. The ministry is headquartered at Shastri Bhavan, New Delhi.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q, Which Sustainable Development Goal(SDG) is linked to the idea of providing quality education to all?
Answer: SDG 4 provides for achieving the target of providing quality education to all by 2030.
