
Kota. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday addressed thousands of coaching students and their families at the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme held at Dussehra Ground in Kota. Calling the gathering a non-political platform, Gandhi said the event was aimed at highlighting the concerns and struggles of students preparing for competitive examinations.
Questioning the current education model, Rahul Gandhi described India’s education system as an “extortion machine” that places an enormous financial burden on families. He claimed that students and their families spend nearly ₹5 lakh crore on preparing for five major competitive examinations, including NEET, JEE and UPSC. According to him, this amount is equivalent to the combined budgets of five major Union ministries.
Expressing concern over student suicides in Kota, Gandhi referred to the case of a deceased NEET aspirant and said such incidents reflect the failure of the education system rather than the failure of students. He said the existing system creates immense pressure and stress on young minds and called for collective efforts to prevent more students from taking such extreme steps.
During the interactive session, several students and parents shared their concerns. One parent said they wake up multiple times at night fearing that their child, under academic pressure, may take a wrong step. Students also said that traditional career options such as medicine, engineering and civil services are often imposed upon them, while many wish to pursue alternative careers like dance, aviation and other creative fields.
Rahul Gandhi also highlighted the country’s employment crisis, claiming that 80 out of every 100 engineers are unemployed. He argued that the system extracts huge sums of money from families but offers limited employment opportunities in return.
Appealing for reforms, Gandhi said India needs an education system that allows students to choose their preferred fields of study without excessive financial burden and gives them the opportunity to realise their dreams.
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