Entrance test controversy triggers massive protests in New Delhi

Thousands of student protesters have flooded onto the streets of New Delhi to call for the resignation of India’s education minister, in one of the largest youth-led protests that the country has experienced in decades.

Protesters are demanding greater accountability and transparency in the education system following a major scandal involving entrance exams to medical schools.

Hundreds of police officers and security were deployed across the capital as protesters marched towards parliament buildings and chanted for education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, to step down.

The march, which began early in the morning on 20 July, followed weeks of demonstrations at one of Delhi’s prominent protest sites where students and political activists had been camping overnight. The protests were organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a new youth-led political movement founded in mid-May after a leaked medical entrance exam led to millions of students having to retake the test.

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), India’s nationwide entrance exam for medical colleges, was sat by more than two million students on 3 May at over 5,000 centres across India. However, the exam was scrapped after it emerged that the questions had been leaked.

Students who had been preparing for months were forced to retake the exam. This sparked nationwide outrage because the NEET is notoriously competitive and difficult.

The CJP was founded by graduate Abhijeet Dipke in response to comments made by Surya Kant, chief justice of India, who compared unemployed young people to “cockroaches”. What began as a series of online satirical memes is now a real-life movement that fashions itself as the “voice of burnt-out youth” with over 23 million Instagram followers.

Momentum for the CJP has exploded over recent days after well-known activist and educator Sonam Wangchuk went on hunger strike in solidarity with the party. Wangchuk was on day 21 of his hunger strike when he was forcibly taken to hospital, and he reportedly continues fasting there.

Although the party’s origins stem from the NEET exam scandal, the CJP has transformed into something far bigger. It has become an outlet for the frustrations of the India’s young people with the country’s lack of jobs and opportunities, as well as rising unemployment which stands at over 29 per cent. Sixty-seven per cent of unemployed young people in India hold a degree, and many graduates struggle to secure salaried employment even after university.

rosalind.skillen@timeshighereducation.com