A fire broke out on the second floor of the Education Ministry office on Monday morning — with efforts currently underway to douse the flames. Visuals shared online showed smoke billowing out of the windows as fire tenders reached the site. No injuries or damage has been reported so far and the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
According to an ANI update, the blaze started on the second floor of the Ministry office in Vikas Marg. The office in question was located within the School of Planning and Architecture campus in the ITO area of central Delhi.
Officials told news agency PTI that the Delhi Fire Service had received a call about the blaze around 9.37 am and rushed eight firefighting vehicles to the spot.
The incident also comes amid a massive row over exam irregularities — with the National Testing Agency and Central Board of Secondary Education both facing heavy criticism from several quarters. The Congress has alleged irregularities in the tendering process and demanded the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday.
A Parliamentary Standing Committee was also convened on Monday to discuss the use of pen-and-paper testing (versus computer-based testing) and matters pertaining to the NEET examination and the National Testing Agency. Other issues under consideration include a review of the on-screen-marking system used to grade CBSE Class 12 exams and the application of a three-language formula in Class 9 and 10.