Govt silent on corruption in education; time for revolution: Rahul Gandhi

Ahead of his second interaction with students under the 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' initiative, Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Monday, 13 July described India's education system as a 'dishonest extortion mechanism', alleging that it is burdening students with debt, stress and despair while enabling corruption.

The Lok Sabha LoP also accused the Modi government and Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan of remaining silent in the face of alleged corruption in both the education and electoral systems, saying they had 'turned their face away from accountability'.

In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, 'Corrupt, unjust, biased, dishonest — these four words are not mine, these are what the country's students are using today for India's education system. And the truth is — India's education system has now become a dishonest extortion mechanism.'

He alleged that a system intended to prepare young people for the future was instead pushing students and their families into debt, anxiety and hopelessness.

'It is this corruption that has given birth to the paper leak mafia, which robs years of hard work from millions of preparing students in one fell swoop. Here, guilty vendors and officials get tenders and promotions. And who gets the punishment? The students, who are left alone with their shattered dreams,' Gandhi said.

He further alleged that despite repeated instances of corruption, the Centre had failed to act. 'The Modi government and the education minister are watching all this. But they have chosen silence – turning their face away from accountability. And the media? Just a long silence. Enough is enough – now is the time for a revolution in education,' he said.

Gandhi also invited students to join him in Dehradun on 17 July for the next edition of the 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' campaign.

The Congress leader launched the initiative with a rally in Kota, Rajasthan, on 17 June and is expected to hold similar interactions with students in other cities.

At the Kota event, Gandhi had described India's education system as a 'rejection system' rather than one based on merit, alleging that it imposes an excessive financial burden and immense stress on students and middle-class families.

Calling the existing education structure "extremely stressful and unfair", he had said, "India's education system is an extortion machine. We want a system that allows you to dream big."

During his interaction with students in Kota, Gandhi also spoke about paper leaks and unemployment, alleging that the education system places immense pressure on young people and crushes their aspirations.

With PTI inputs