 "NEET 2024: 'Education minister blamed everyone but himself', says Rahul")
As the Monsoon Session began in Parliament on Monday, a heated debate unfolded when Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi confronted Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan regarding the alleged leaks in the 2024 National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).
The Congress MP said in Parliament, “It is obvious to the whole country that there is a very serious problem in our examination system, not just in NEET but in all the major examinations. The minister [Dharmendra Pradhan] has blamed everybody except himself. I don’t even think he understands the fundamentals of what is going on here.”
He further said that millions of children in India believe that the Indian exam system is fraudulent. “Millions of people believe that if you are rich and you have money, you can buy the Indian examination system and this is the same feeling that the opposition has,” he said, demanding a separate one-day discussion on the matter, Gandhi said in the Parliament.
Responding to the allegations made by Rahul Gandhi, Education Minister Pradhan said that no paper leak has even occurred under his watch.
Also Read: NEET-UG 2024 row: Over 11,000 candidates scored zero or negative marks
No evidence of paper leak in seven years: Pradhan
The education minister said, “No evidence of paper leak has been found in the last seven years. This (NEET) matter is going on before the Supreme Court. I can say with full responsibility that more than 240 exams have been conducted successfully by the NTA.”
Questioning the education minister over the measures taken to fix the ongoing NEET row, Gandhi asked, “As this (NEET) is a systemic issue, what exactly are you doing to fix this issue?”
Replying to the allegation, Pradhan said, “A lie will not become truth just by shouting. The fact that the Leader of Opposition says that the country’s examination system is rubbish, is highly condemnable.”
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He also mentioned that the government has introduced a new law to address malpractice and irregularities in competitive examinations. Similar legislation had been proposed during the previous UPA administration, but the minister claimed that the ruling Congress abandoned these efforts “under pressure”.
Govt will make record of paper leaks, says Akhilesh Yadav
Criticising the government over the paper leak scam, Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav said, “This government will make a record of paper leaks. There are some centres where more than 2,000 students have passed. As long as this minister (Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan) is there, the students will not get justice.”
Replying to allegations made by the SP chief, Pradhan said that the results of the exam were made public as directed by the Supreme Court.
“I don’t want to do politics, but I have a list of how many paper leaks happened when Akhilesh Yadav was in charge,” Pradhan said.
[With agency inputs]