During the 12 years of the Modi government, the Education Ministry saw many important changes. The ministry’s name was changed from the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) to the Ministry of Education. A new National Education Policy was introduced, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning became an important part of the education system. Before the Modi govt, here is a look at the longest serving Education Minister in India. (AI Image)

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was one of the most respected leaders of India’s freedom movement. He became the first Education Minister of independent India and served from August 15, 1947, to February 2, 1958, which also makes him the longest serving education minister of the country. His major contributions include the creation of the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), IIT Kharagpur, the University Education Commission, the Secondary Education Commission, and the development of Jamia Millia Islamia. (File Photo)

Maulana Azad was largely educated at home and was mostly self-taught. By the age of 15, he was teaching students who were much older than him. He knew several languages, including Arabic, English, Urdu, Hindi, Persian, and Bengali. Apart from being a scholar, he was also a journalist and writer. In 1912, he started the Urdu weekly newspaper Al-Hilal in Calcutta. His well-known books include India Wins Freedom, Ghubar-e-Khatir, Tazkirah, and Tarjuman-ul-Quran. (File Photo)

Meanwhile, after the Modi government came to power on May 26, 2014, Smriti Irani was appointed as the Minister of the then Human Resource Development Ministry. In July 2016, Prakash Javadekar replaced Smriti Irani as HRD Minister. In the second term of the Modi govt, former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ became the Education Minister. During his tenure, the govt also renamed the HRD Ministry as the Ministry of Education. He served in the ministry until July 2021. (File Photo)

On July 7, 2021, Dharmendra Pradhan took charge as the Education Minister. He remained in the position for 5 years and 18 days, making him the longest-serving Education Minister in the Modi government. While Smriti Irani, Prakash Javadekar, and Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ each served for around two to three years, Dharmendra Pradhan continued in the role for more than five years before being succeeded by Prahlad Joshi. (PTI File)