Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the Central government, alleging that it has severely damaged India's education system by failing to conduct major national examinations in a fair and credible manner, thereby affecting millions of students across the country.
His remarks came amid reports that the CUET-UG 2026 examination faced technical glitches linked to TCS-operated systems at multiple examination centres in cities including Delhi and Bengaluru. Following the disruptions, the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced compensatory time for affected candidates and delayed certain afternoon examination sessions.
The criticism also comes against the backdrop of the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 entrance examination following allegations of a paper leak, as well as concerns surrounding the evaluation process of the Class 12 board examinations conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).
In a post on X, Gandhi accused the government of repeatedly failing students and questioned its claims regarding educational achievements. "NEET. CBSE. SSC. And today CUET. Four exams. One crore children. Not a single one conducted with honesty.
Claims of 'Vishwaguru' but can't conduct even one exam in the country Modi ji has completely ruined the entire education system," he wrote. Gandhi further warned that students would eventually hold the government accountable for the consequences of these developments.
"The generation whose future you are destroying that same generation will hold you accountable," he added. The NTA had subsequently announced the cancellation of the NEET-UG examination following allegations of a paper leak. The development marked a significant moment for the highly competitive medical entrance examination and has reportedly affected nearly 24 lakh aspirants seeking admission to medical institutions across the country.
At the same time, the CBSE has been facing criticism over issues related to the evaluation of Class 12 board examination answer sheets. The board had adopted a new digital On-Screen Marking (OSM) system that was managed through an outsourced private vendor.
Several issues were flagged during the evaluation process, including mismatched answer sheets, blurred scanned copies, missing pages, and instances of unexpectedly low or inconsistent marking. In some cases, students who were considered high performers reportedly received marks that suggested failure, triggering concerns among students and parents.
The controversies surrounding the examinations have sparked protests in different parts of the country and intensified debate over the credibility of the examination system.