Dharmendra Pradhan (born 26 June 1969) is an Indian politician currently serving as the Union Minister of Education since 2021.

In March 2024, he won the Sambalpur constituency as the BJP candidate in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

[4][5] Dharmendra Pradhan has five pending cases under the IPC, including a case under IPC Section 153A for allegedly "promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony".

He started his political career as an Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activist in 1983 and was elected as its secretary.

[17] Critics raised concerns about discrepancies in job placement rates after skill development projects.

While the Supreme Court of India did not find large-scale wrongdoing by him,[23][24] there were confirmed cases of cheating and malpractice with over 100 arrests.

[25][25] In 2024, he appointed a committee led by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan to enact reforms to improve the entrance examination system.