Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi arrives to attend the first day of the Parliament session, in New Delhi, on July 22, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, kicked off the first day of the monsoon session of the Parliament on July 22, questioning what the government has done to address the issue of recent entrance examination paper leaks.
Stating that it’s obvious to the whole country that “there is a very serious problem with our examination system,” Mr. Gandhi alleged that the Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan does not understand the fundamentals of what is going on
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“This is not just the question of the NEET but major examinations,” he said adding that “the Minister has blamed everybody except himself.”
While the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET–UG is under the scanner over several irregularities, including alleged paper leak, the UGC-NET was cancelled as the Education Ministry received inputs that the integrity of the exam was compromised. Both matters are being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
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Two other exams — CSIR-UGC NET and NEET-PG — were cancelled as a pre-emptive step.
“The issue is that there are millions of students in this country who are extremely concerned about what is going on and who are convinced that the Indian examination system is a fraud,” Mr. Gandhi said while addressing the lower house of the Parliament.
“Millions of people believe that if you’re rich, if you have money, you can buy the Indian examination system, and this is the same feeling we as the Opposition have. This is why we are asking some very simple questions to the Hon. Minister.: As this is a systemic issue, what exactly are you doing to fix the issue at a systemic level?” he added.
The Supreme Court is currently hearing a batch of petitions alleging irregularities and malpractices in the conduct of the medical entrance exam NEET-UG 2024, including paper leak.
A visibly peeved Mr. Pradhan said it was unfortunate that the member described the examination system as rubbish.
Stressing that there should be constructive discussions on the issue, Speaker of the House Om Birla said if questions are raised about all the examinations in the country, then that will have an impact on the Indian education system and the perception about it around the world.
“We should look at developing a better system… it is not right to raise questions about all examinations,” he said.
After the Speaker concluded his remarks, Mr. Gandhi wanted to speak but was disallowed.
Mr. Gandhi and almost the entire Opposition members, including from TMC and DMK, walked out of the House.
Congress Deputy Leader in the House Gaurav Gogoi raised slogans demanding the resignation of Mr. Pradhan.
(With PTI inputs)
