‘Indian Education System More About Rejection Than Selection’: Rahul Gandhi at Kota Rally

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday (June 17) criticised India's education system during a rally in Rajasthan’s Kota, saying that it places a heavy burden on students and their families and functions more as a system of rejection than one of opportunity.

Addressing students at an event titled 'Chhatro Ki Goonj', Gandhi said the education structure in India today was “extremely stressful and unfair”. 

“India’s education system is an extortion machine. We want a system that allows you to dream big,” he said, adding that the system puts undue pressure and stress on children.

Kota is considered a hub of coaching centres for competitive exams in the country. 

Speaking at the event, Gandhi said that the gathering was focused on the concerns of students and young people facing difficulties in securing their future. “This is not a political meeting. This is a meeting about you, about the young people who are struggling to get a future. This evening is about you, the challenges that you are dealing with every single day,” he said.

Paper leaks, unemployment and exams

Gandhi raised issues including paper leaks, unemployment and competitive examinations. He argued that the current system pushes students towards a limited set of career options, particularly engineering, medicine and the civil services, while offering less support for other aspirations.

Referring to examinations such as NEET, Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), Union Public Service Commission, State Service Commission and Railway Recruitment Board, Gandhi said a large number of candidates compete for a small number of positions. “For NEET alone, around 22 lakh students appear, but less than one lakh get selected. These are extremely difficult odds,” he said.

He also alleged that students and their families spend large sums of money on examination-related expenses. He said that spending associated with a single examination is comparable to the government's overall education budget.

Calling for changes to the system, Gandhi said students should not be subjected to the level of distress and pressure currently experienced by many young people.

The Bharatiya Janata Party criticised Gandhi's remarks and questioned the timing of the event. “Is it because of the Congress’ internal politics that you want to play with the students’ sentiments there?” BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said at a press conference in New Delhi.

Students in distress

The event comes amid renewed focus on increasing student suicides in the country.

The National Crime Records Bureau’s (NCRB) Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2024 report, released in May this year, recorded 1,70,746 cases of deaths by suicide across the country, where the number of students dying by suicide climbed to a record high of 14,488 in 2024. The NCRB data shows a rise of 4.3% in student suicides, accounting for 8.5% of the total cases, and making them the fifth-largest group among suicide victims by occupation, the report said.

Students' wellbeing has taken centre-stage over the last few months amid a spate of controversies surrounding the conduct of examinations in the country. On May 12, the national-level medical entrance test, NEET, was cancelled less than 10 days after being conducted due to an alleged paper leak.

Shortly after this, the Central Board of Secondary Education hit headlines when class 12 students complained of irregularities in marking, mismatched answer sheets and other issues with the newly introduced online marking system (OSM). The CUET UG exam too was delayed by an hour in May due to technical glitches, which led to many students leaving the exam centres without appearing for the test.

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