Kota, 17 June (H.S.):

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the country's existing education system does not guarantee employment and requires a complete overhaul. Addressing the inaugural session of the nationwide 'Students' Voice' programme in Kota, he asserted that India's education system has transformed from a system of selection into one of rejection, while alleging that parents are being forced to spend enormous sums of money on competitive examinations.

The nationwide initiative was launched in the wake of the recent NEET-UG question paper leak and alleged irregularities in competitive examinations to amplify the concerns of affected students. During the programme, held at Shri Ram Rangmanch at Dussehra Ground in Kota, Rahul Gandhi interacted directly with NEET and JEE aspirants as well as their parents. He also invited three students—Samia Meena, Saniya Gupta and Himanshu Dangi—to the stage and engaged them in a discussion.

Rahul Gandhi said the event was neither a political platform nor a speech-making exercise, but a forum dedicated to the voices of the country's youth. He said the programme was intended to facilitate an open discussion on students' hardships, their concerns, education and employment-related issues.

He stated that although millions of students spend years preparing for competitive examinations, only a small number ultimately secure admission or selection. Citing the example of 3,000 students, he said only one would become an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, around 30 would gain admission to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), and only about 180 would become doctors.

He further claimed that nearly 80 per cent of engineering graduates in the country remain unemployed, describing the present technical education system as deeply flawed. According to him, the education sector has become a mechanism for extracting money rather than providing quality education.

Referring to his Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi said he met lakhs of young people aspiring to become doctors, engineers, lawyers, civil servants or members of the armed forces. This, he said, prompted him to question why the education system limits young people to only a handful of career options.

He recalled asking a group of young women about their personal aspirations, noting that many spoke of dreams beyond those conventional professions. This, he argued, demonstrated that the education system is failing to nurture students' individual ambitions and instead imposes predetermined career choices upon them. India's youth possess limitless potential, he said, but existing policies attempt to confine them within a narrow framework.

Rahul Gandhi also displayed the suicide note of Akanksha, a student who recently died by suicide, saying she had aspired to become a doctor. He said her father, who is suffering from paralysis, had taken substantial loans to finance her education in Kota, but the alleged NEET question paper leak shattered her hopes.

Quoting from the note, Rahul Gandhi said she had written, Sorry, Mom and Dad, I have ruined everything for you.

He maintained that Akanksha was not responsible for the tragedy, describing it instead as a failure of the country's system. He said society must ensure that no student is ever driven to a point where taking their own life appears to be the only option, adding that the mental trauma associated with the current education system must come to an end.

Rahul Gandhi further said it was fundamentally wrong that parents are compelled to take loans to educate their children. He argued that it is the responsibility of the nation to provide every child with free, accessible and high-quality education so that their aspirations can be fulfilled.

He also alleged that intense competition and limited educational opportunities have resulted in the parents of the 2.2 million students appearing for NEET being subjected to heavy financial burdens.

Calling the unchecked commercialisation of education a social crime, Rahul Gandhi said India needs an education system that enables young people to receive high-quality education at an affordable cost while allowing them to pursue their individual dreams and aspirations.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar