'Our system crushes dreams' | Rahul Gandhi calls for education reform in Kota amid NEET re-exam

Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday visited Kota, Rajasthan, to engage directly with students regarding the mounting pressures within India's educational landscape. Steering clear of partisan rhetoric and departure from traditional political discourse, Rahul Gandhi framed the dialogue as a necessary intervention to address the mental health crisis and systemic limitations facing the nation's youth during his outreach programme "Echo of Students." The campaign aims to raise voice against problems like paper leaks, rigging in exams, declining standards of education, and rising fees.

Addressing a gathering in the city known for its intense coaching culture, the LoP emphasised that the meeting was strictly non-political. His primary objective, he stated, was to confront the harsh realities experienced by students who are "struggling to get a future." "This evening is about you. It is about what you are facing. It is about the challenges that you're dealing with every single day." Reflecting on insights gained during his cross-country Yatra, Gandhi questioned the structural shifts in the educational landscape, specifically highlighting the decline of the public sector and the prohibitive costs of private education. He offered a sharp critique of the current pedagogical approach: He argued that the system "pressures, stresses, suppresses, and crushes its children," creating a high-stakes environment that has led to tragic outcomes.

The LoP set a sombre, urgent goal for the dialogue: to work toward a future where no student in India feels the desperation that leads to self-harm. A central theme of his address was the lack of vocational and creative diversity within the Indian career path. Gandhi noted that during his interactions with millions of young people, he consistently received the same five career aspirations: Engineer, Doctor, Lawyer, IAS, and Forces. "The biggest shortcoming of our education system is that we do not fulfil our children's dreams," Gandhi remarked. He challenged the status quo, asking why the system fails to foster broader ambitions or respect the diverse, individual choices of its students. By highlighting this narrow scope, he called for a reimagining of an educational framework that empowers, rather than suppresses, the aspirations of the next generation.