Rahul Gandhi says students believe education system is fraud; Minister Pradhan hits back

NEW DELHI: Opposition leader (LoP) Rahul Gandhi on Monday launched a scathing attack on the government over allegations of paper leaks in the NEET exams, highlighting the “very serious problem” in the country’s examination system. He stated that students in the country are convinced that if one has the money they can buy the examination system.

Speaking in Lok Sabha during the Budget Session that got under way this morning, Gandhi asked Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan about the various steps the ministry is undertaking to fix the alleged “systemic” rot in the present examination system and claimed that millions of students believe that the “system” is “fraud”.

#WATCH | Congress MP and LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi says “It is obvious to the whole country that there is a very serious problem in our examination system, not just in NEET but in all the major examinations. The minister (Dharmendra Pradhan) has blamed everybody except… pic.twitter.com/ccclExwRTI

— ANI (@ANI) July 22, 2024

“As this is a systemic issue, what exactly are you doing to fix this issue at the systemic level,” Rahul Gandhi asked. Elaborating on his claim that all major examinations in the country sufferes from a “serious problem,” Gandhi said, “It is obvious to the whole country that there is a very serious problem in our examination system. This is not just in the question of NEET but in all the major examinations”.

Slamming the Education Minister for failing to understand the gravity of the alleged problem in the country’s education system. the Leader of the Opposition took a jibe at Pradhan and said, “The minister has blamed everybody except himself. I don’t think he understands the fundamentals of what is going on here”.

Rahul Gandhi pointed out that a large proportion of students in the country believe that the Indian education system is “fraud” and that those who are affluent can afford to “buy the system”. “The issue is that there are millions of students in this country who are extremely concerned with what is going on and who are convinced that the Indian examination system is a fraud…Millions of people believe that if you are rich and if you have money you can buy the Indian examination system and this is the same feeling that people in the Opposition have”, the LoP said.

#WATCH | Congress MP and LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi says “As this (NEET) is a systematic issue, what exactly are you doing to fix this issue?

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan says “…A lie will not become truth just by shouting. The fact that the Leader of Opposition… pic.twitter.com/gbTXVoqytk

— ANI (@ANI) July 22, 2024

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan who was speaking in the Lower House condemned Rahul Gandhi’s statement saying that his “lie” cannot become true by “shouting”. “…A lie will not become truth just by shouting. The fact that the Leader of Opposition says that the country’s examination system is rubbish, is highly condemnable…,” Pradhan said.

The government has been facing the heat over the “paper leak” issue during the conduct of the NEET-UG examination.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha today, Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav said, “This government will make a record of paper leaks… There are some centres where more than 2,000 students have passed. As long as this minister (Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan) is there, the students will not get justice”.

As opposition members raised the issue of the NEET exam issue in Lok Sabha, Education Minister Pradhan said that there has been no evidence of paper leak in the last seven years. “More than 240 exams were conducted by NTA (National Testing Agency) in last seven years, more than five crore students applied, more than four crore participated. There have been incidents, this case is in SC currently. The CJI is personally presiding over the bench”, Pradhan said.

The Budget Session of Parliament, that began today, will have 16 sittings spread over 22 days. Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju said that this session will mainly be devoted to financial business relating to the Union Budget for 2024-25 which will be presented to Lok Sabha on July 23. (ANI)