New Delhi | Newly appointed Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi on Saturday said he accepted the responsibility with a sense of duty and humility.

Joshi has been appointed as Education Minister following Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation from the post on Saturday.

Joshi has been given additional charge of the Education Ministry besides his role as Consumer Affairs Minister.

"I have just got to know that the Prime Minister has given me a responsibility. I accept this responsibility with a sense of duty and humility," he told reporters.

"In the last 12 years of Prime Minister Modi's government, many historical achievements have been made. In the last four-five years, Dharmendra Pradhan also executed the National Education Policy...Under the guidance of the Prime Minister, I will try to perform to the best of my capacity," he added.

Earlier in the day, Pradhan resigned from his post following the Cockroach Janta Party-led student protests across the country, demanding his ouster over the NEET paper leak controversy.

Pradhan said it was not a matter of "individual prestige" for him and he was disturbed to see the series of events that have unfolded in the last 10 days.