The All India Students’ Association organised a protest march on June 1 outside the Ministry of Education in Delhi against the continuing scams and irregularities in examinations including NEET, SSC, CBSE, CUET and other national exams. The march demanded accountability for paper leaks, wrong score calculations, corruption in the examination system and the immediate resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
As soon as the AISA march reached the Ministry of Education, a heavy police force attacked the protesting students, beat up activists and detained them.
AISA National President Neha said that the NTA represents the worst form of negligence and corruption prevailing in education today, and is the clearest reflection of the Modi government’s education policy.
She further added that the Modi government is refusing to answer for the destruction of students’ futures and is instead using police repression to silence democratic student protests. The NTA has become a symbol of corruption, negligence and anti-student education policy.
Former JNUSU President Nitish said, “If we have to stop paper leaks, the NTA must be entirely dissolved.”
AISA also said that people occupying some of the highest positions in the country are calling students and young people “cockroaches.” This exposes the arrogance of a government that believes it owes no accountability to the youth and students of India.
Earlier, on May 29, AISA and RYA organised statewide chakka jam protests across Jharkhand against the proposed cluster system in universities, recurring paper leaks in competitive examinations and irregularities in the CBSE On-Screen Marking system. Protests took place across Ranchi, Giridih, Bokaro, Dhanbad, Deoghar, Palamu and Garhwa.
In Ranchi, protesters blocked Albert Ekka Chowk for nearly two hours. In Bagodar, the Old GT Road Chowk near the bus stand remained blocked for around two hours. Protests also affected Sariya, Birni, Gawan, Tisri and Dhanwar. AISA and RYA said the statewide agitation reflected the deep anger of students and youth against the organised collapse of the examination system and the attack on accessible education under the Modi regime.
AISA appealed to students and young people across the country to rise up against paper leaks, examination scams, the NTA regime and police repression. The organisation demanded the immediate resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, dissolution of the NTA and full accountability for every scam that has played with the future of students.
