NEET leaks, policy U-turns mark Dharmendra Pradhan's five-year tenure

New Delhi: Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation as education minister brings to a close a five-year tenure (2021-26) riddled with controversies, particularly in his second stint after the 2024 elections.

Within days of Pradhan taking charge again as education minister on June 9, 2024, reports emerged from Bihar of a NEET-UG paper leak. Even as the issue subsided after government assurances, it simmered over next two years, only to erupt with 2026 leak, impacting over 22 lakh students. Much of this has to do with the slow pace of implementing the Radhakrishnan panel's recommendations to reform NEET-UG exam system and NTA.

While the health ministry has dithered over shifting the medical exam to a computer-based format, the NTA, under the Pradhan-led ministry's watch, has remained poorly led and staffed ever since the 2024 leak. The result: the 2026 leak, which CBI now traces to NTA insiders. Beyond NEET-UG, even as Pradhan successfully steered the implementation of NEP 2020, his second stint was marked by a series of controversies. Factor this: even as the ministry grappled with NEET-UG leak and exam cancellation row, it announced in May a surprise decision making it compulsory for CBSE students from Class IX onwards to study three languages mid-session. The issue reached the SC, but before the court could rule on it, strong public backlash forced the CBSE to withdraw the order. Add to that, the serious public backlash over the poorly effected and suddenly introduced On Screen Marking system for class 12 board assessments this year on which is now under review. These rollbacks came barely months after NCERT withdrew a chapter from the new Class VIII textbooks over references on corruption and judiciary.


In February 2026, the SC stayed the UGC draft Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions Regulations, 2026, which had sparked protests across states, including BJP-ruled ones, and ignited a political debate over provisions on penalties for "false complaints" of discrimination.

Two months before SC stay, the ministry had found itself in serious political crosshairs after its October 28, 2025 notification proposing restructuring of Panjab University's Senate and Syndicate prompted opposition from political parties in Punjab, and student and teacher bodies. On November 7, 2025, the ministry rolled back the notification. Earlier in 2025, another UGC proposal - draft UGC (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment and Promotion of Teachers) Regulations, 2025, issued on January 6 - also ran into opposition over a clause empowering Chancellors (Governors) to appoint the chairperson of the selection committee for VCs of state universities.

Amid the backlash, the Centre extended the deadline for public comments to the end of February 2025 and has since continued processing suggestions, effectively leaving the regulations in limbo. The string of controversies also claimed several top officials in the ministry, from NTA Director General after 2024 leak to CBSE Chairman in June 2026 and, most recently, Higher Education Secretary earlier this week.

Their minister now joins that list.