Rahul Gandhi calls for rebuilding education system after NEET row

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the education system must be rebuilt from scratch to create a safe environment free of stress for children and ensure that parents reap the rewards of their sacrifices. Gandhi shared on X a video clip from his ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ rally in Dehradun on Friday evening. […]

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the education system must be rebuilt from scratch to create a safe environment free of stress for children and ensure that parents reap the rewards of their sacrifices.

Gandhi shared on X a video clip from his ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ rally in Dehradun on Friday evening. Gandhi had called on stage Rajesh Kumar, father of Riya Kumari, who died by suicide after the cancellation of NEET-UG in May over allegations of a paper leak.

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In his post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, “Riya’s father, Rajesh ji, was so shattered by the loss of his daughter that it brought tears to the eyes of everyone who saw him. This is not the pain of just one family; the paper leak has snatched children away from many such families.”

“Behind every name, there is a mother and a father, for whom there is no longer a tomorrow,” the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.

“This system must be rebuilt from scratch, creating an environment where children find safety instead of stress, and where parents reap the rewards of their sacrifices, not tears,” Gandhi said.

Gandhi on Friday said that no political party or organisation should have a hold over any educational institution and batted for a political consensus on the issue of paper leaks, calling it everyone’s responsibility.

Addressing the rally in Dehradun on Friday evening, he alleged that the entire education system, from top to bottom, is involved in paper leaks, due to which 7.5 crore students have suffered so far.

“The entire structure is involved, from coaching centres, exam centres, paper setters, translators, transporters and vendors to the NTA and the education ministry at the top,” he alleged.

While cases of paper leaks are rising by the day due to this “corrupt system”, no action has been taken against the guilty, including securing convictions, Gandhi said.

Gandhi also claimed that the present testing system is outdated like that of the 19th century and needs to be updated for the 21st century.

“Today’s system is examiner-centric, government-centric and testing-centric, whereas we want a student-centric system. The testing system should be for the students and it must be flexible.

“There should be a secure question bank and randomised question papers. We can randomise a question paper with the help of technology, similar to the GMAT and other exams,” Gandhi said.