Rahul Gandhi slams Centre over NEET, CUET, CBSE exam failures affecting 1 crore students
Synopsis
Rahul Gandhi's broadside wasn't just political point-scoring — it catalogued four simultaneous examination failures in a single week. With NEET cancelled over a paper leak, CUET disrupted by TCS system glitches, and CBSE's digital marking producing inexplicable results for top students, India's national examination architecture is facing its most serious credibility crisis in years — and 1 crore students are caught in the middle.
Key Takeaways
Rahul Gandhi on 30 May accused the Centre of 'completely ruining' India's education system over failures across NEET , CUET , CBSE , and SSC examinations.
The NEET-UG 2026 entrance examination was cancelled by the NTA following allegations of a paper leak, reportedly affecting nearly 24 lakh aspirants .
CUET-UG 2026 faced technical disruptions linked to TCS-operated systems at centres in New Delhi and Bengaluru ; the NTA granted compensatory time to affected students.
CBSE's new digital On-Screen Marking (OSM) system drew criticism over mismatched sheets, blurred scans, and inconsistent marks — with some high performers reportedly receiving failing grades.
The overlapping controversies have triggered protests across the country and renewed calls to overhaul examination governance.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday, 30 May launched a sharp attack on the Central government, accusing it of systematically destroying India's education system by failing to conduct major national examinations fairly — an allegation that has gained traction amid a cascade of exam-related controversies affecting an estimated 1 crore students across the country.
What Triggered the Attack
Gandhi's remarks came after the CUET-UG 2026 examination encountered technical disruptions linked to TCS-operated systems at multiple centres in cities including New Delhi and Bengaluru. The National Testing Agency (NTA) responded by granting compensatory time to affected candidates and delaying certain afternoon sessions. The CUET disruption was, however, only the latest in a series of high-profile examination failures.
Gandhi's Charge: Four Exams, Zero Credibility
In a post on X, Gandhi named four examinations — NEET, CBSE, SSC, and CUET — as evidence of systemic failure. '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. He further warned: 'The generation whose future you are destroying -- that same generation will hold you accountable.'
NEET-UG 2026 Cancellation and Its Scale
The NTA cancelled the NEET-UG 2026 entrance examination following allegations of a paper leak — a development that has reportedly affected nearly 24 lakh aspirants seeking admission to medical institutions across India. The cancellation of the country's most competitive medical entrance test marks one of the most significant disruptions to the examination calendar in recent memory.
CBSE's Digital Marking Controversy
Simultaneously, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has faced mounting criticism over its Class 12 board examination evaluation process. The board adopted a new digital On-Screen Marking (OSM) system managed through an outsourced private vendor. Multiple issues were flagged during evaluation, including mismatched answer sheets, blurred scanned copies, missing pages, and instances of unexpectedly low or inconsistent marking. In some cases, students considered high performers reportedly received marks suggesting failure — triggering widespread anxiety among students and parents.
Protests and the Credibility Question
The overlapping controversies — spanning NEET, CUET, and CBSE — have sparked protests in several parts of the country and intensified a national debate over the structural integrity of India's examination ecosystem. This is not the first time the NTA has faced scrutiny; the agency came under fire in 2024 over NEET irregularities as well, suggesting a pattern that critics argue reflects deeper institutional failures. With millions of students' futures contingent on these examinations, pressure on the Centre to overhaul examination governance is unlikely to ease soon.
Point of View
Not just political allegation. The simultaneous collapse of NEET, CUET, and CBSE credibility in a single academic cycle is without precedent. What mainstream coverage underplays is the structural problem: the NTA has now presided over major examination controversies in back-to-back years, and the outsourcing of critical functions — to TCS for CUET, to a private vendor for CBSE's OSM — has repeatedly introduced points of failure that the agency appears unprepared to manage. The Centre has not yet offered a credible institutional response, which is precisely the accountability vacuum Gandhi is exploiting. Until the government separates examination design from vendor-dependent delivery, the crisis will recur.
NationPress
5 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Rahul Gandhi attack the government over examinations?
Rahul Gandhi criticised the Central government on 30 May after a series of examination failures — including the cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 over paper leak allegations, technical glitches in CUET-UG 2026, and CBSE's disputed digital marking process. He argued that four major exams had failed simultaneously, affecting 1 crore students.
Why was NEET-UG 2026 cancelled?
The NTA cancelled NEET-UG 2026 following allegations of a paper leak. The cancellation has reportedly affected nearly 24 lakh aspirants who had registered for admission to medical institutions across India.
What went wrong with CUET-UG 2026?
CUET-UG 2026 faced technical disruptions linked to TCS-operated systems at multiple examination centres in New Delhi and Bengaluru. The NTA responded by granting compensatory time to affected candidates and delaying certain afternoon sessions.
What is the controversy around CBSE's On-Screen Marking system?
CBSE adopted a new digital On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for Class 12 board evaluation, managed by an outsourced private vendor. Issues flagged included mismatched answer sheets, blurred scanned copies, missing pages, and inconsistent marks — with some high-performing students reportedly receiving marks that suggested failure.
Who is affected by these examination controversies?
The overlapping failures span NEET, CUET, CBSE Class 12, and SSC examinations, collectively affecting an estimated 1 crore students. NEET-UG alone reportedly impacted nearly 24 lakh medical aspirants, while CUET disruptions hit students at centres across multiple cities.
