JAIPUR: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi used a major youth outreach programme in Rajasthan’s Kota on Wednesday to launch a sharp critique of India’s education system, arguing that students and their families are spending enormous amounts on competitive examinations while receiving little assurance of quality education or employment in return.
Addressing thousands of students at the “Chhatro Ki Goonj” programme, Gandhi described the country’s education model as a “rejection system, not a selection system,” claiming it narrows the aspirations of young people instead of helping them pursue their interests and talents.
The event, held in Kota, widely known as India’s coaching capital, focused on issues such as competitive examinations, paper leaks, unemployment and the pressures faced by students.
Gandhi maintained that the gathering was not a political programme but an attempt to listen to the concerns of the country’s youth.
Drawing attention to the financial burden of entrance examinations, Gandhi claimed that families of NEET aspirants collectively spend around Rs 1.32 lakh crore every year on coaching, fees and related expenses, an amount he said is comparable to the Union government’s education budget.
Expanding his argument, he cited figures related to five major examinations, SSC, UPSC, RRB, JEE and NEET, and claimed that students preparing for these tests spend nearly Rs 3.5 lakh crore annually.
According to Gandhi, this expenditure is equivalent to the combined budgets allocated by the Centre to the five ministries dealing with women and child development, labour, education, health and science.
“The system takes huge amounts of money from families and then shuts the door on most students,” Gandhi remarked and he questioned whether the existing model genuinely creates opportunities for young Indians.
He also argued that the education system limits career choices by encouraging students to pursue only a handful of professions, such as medicine, engineering, civil services, law and the armed forces. According to him, children’s personal ambitions and creative aspirations are often overlooked.
In one of the most emotional moments of the programme, Gandhi displayed the suicide note of a NEET aspirant Akanksha Chaturvedi who was keen to become a doctor but after the NEET paper leak, she lost hope and committed suicide.
Besides holding up her suicide note, Rahul asserted, “This is not good for the country. I want all of us to work together to ensure that no student in this country ever feels what this girl felt.”
He said, students should not be made to feel responsible for systemic failures. He urged policymakers and society to create an environment where young people can pursue their dreams without fear or extreme pressure.
The Congress leader also interacted with students and parents on stage before concluding his speech with an appeal for greater youth participation in his campaign.
The rally sparked an immediate political response from the BJP. Senior BJP leader Rajendra Rathore dismissed the event as a political spectacle and accused Congress of attempting to mislead students. He highlighted the Bhajan Lal government’s recruitment record, claiming that 1.25 lakh appointments had been made transparently.
Rathore also targeted the previous Congress government, alleging that multiple examination papers were leaked during its tenure and questioning Congress’s silence on those incidents.