Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Sunday assumed additional charge of the Ministry of Education and said he has begun reviewing the functioning of the ministry through a series of meetings with senior officials.

Speaking to reporters after taking charge, Joshi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had entrusted him with the responsibility and that he would first familiarise himself with the ministry before making detailed comments.

“The Prime Minister has entrusted me with this responsibility with full confidence. I was in Karnataka yesterday and reached Delhi last night. This morning, I assumed charge and have started reviewing all the details and decisions that need to be taken. I am gathering information and trying to understand the functioning of the ministry. We held continuous meetings with senior officers today. This is a new subject for me and a very large department. I will speak in detail once I have understood it completely,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Joshi expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister in a post on X, saying he accepted the responsibility “with humility and a deep sense of duty.”

Joshi was assigned additional charge of the Ministry of Education on Saturday after President Droupadi Murmu accepted the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan from the Union Council of Ministers with immediate effect.

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According to a notification issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister, accepted Pradhan’s resignation under Article 75(2) of the Constitution and directed that Pralhad Joshi would hold the Education portfolio in addition to his existing responsibilities.

Joshi will continue to serve as Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and New and Renewable Energy. He had previously held the portfolios of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs.

Dharmendra Pradhan had resigned, stating that he stepped down in the interest of students and to ensure that ongoing protests over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations were not exploited by “anti-national forces.”

His resignation came after weeks of nationwide protests over alleged examination irregularities, with students demanding greater transparency, accountability and reforms in the country’s examination system.

(with inputs from ANI)