Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday waded into India's high-pressure exam culture, urging students in Rajasthan's coaching hub Kota to dream beyond the familiar career script of engineer, doctor, lawyer, IAS or armed forces, while branding the education system a 'rejection system' that breeds stress, despair and tragedy.
Addressing Students at 'Chhatron ki Goonj'
Addressing more than 5,000 registered students at the three-hour 'Chhatron ki Goonj' programme, Gandhi sought to reframe the debate over careers and competitive exams, turning the spotlight on mounting family expenses and shrinking odds of success.
'This is not a political meeting. This is a meeting about you, about young people who are struggling to get a future,' the Lok Sabha opposition leader said, opening an interaction that lasted about 70 minutes from 8pm.
Political Context and BJP's Reaction
Political temperatures had already risen before the event, with the BJP urging students to stay away and focus on Sunday's NEET retest.
Interacting on stage with a JEE and a UPSC aspirant each and three NEET hopefuls, Gandhi questioned why students gravitate towards only a handful of career paths. One student said medicine had become her dream after hearing about it throughout childhood, despite her interest in dance.
Critique of the Education System
Gandhi argued that money drives the fixation on a narrow set of professions and said the system leaves millions chasing a shrinking number of seats. 'Indian education system is a rejection system; it is not a selection system,' he said.
Citing expenditure figures, Gandhi said 22 lakh students appear for NEET annually and their families collectively spend about Rs 1.32 lakh crore a year on preparation, books and related costs — nearly matching the Union government's education budget of about Rs 1.4 lakh crore.
He claimed families spend around Rs 3.5 lakh crore preparing for SSC, UPSC, RRB, JEE and NEET combined, an amount he said equals the combined budgets of five Union ministries — education, health, labour, science, and women and child development.
'Most of the people who take these exams will not go through, but families pay huge amounts,' Gandhi said. 'After that students are told that the doors are closed.'
Congress' Student Outreach Campaign
The Congress party is projecting the Kota event as the opening salvo of a nationwide student outreach campaign.
Large numbers of students from different coaching institutes and parents were present during Rahul Gandhi's interaction with students at Dashhera Maidan in Kota, Rajasthan on 17 June 2026.
