New Delhi:

The government issued guidelines on the regulation of coaching centers in January this year, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan informed Lok Sabha on Monday, even as he evaded a direct reply to a question on the death of three IAS aspirants in Delhi due to flooding.  

During the Question Hour, Congress MP KC Venugopal mentioned the death of the three students and said the institute had no approved building.  

“Without an approved building, without any facility, some of the coaching centers become mafia… is the government going to take any action?” he said.  Mr Venugopal also raised concerns about students’ suicides.

Quoting information provided by the ministry in an earlier written reply, he said that between 2018-2022, around 80 students committed suicide in top-ranking institutions like IITs and IIMs, adding that caste discrimination is a major reason behind it.  In his response, Mr Pradhan said, “The member has raised a question which is not related to the question put today.”

“But I like to assure the House through you, this government is committed to total socio-psychological and mental protection of all students, whether they are studying in a coaching center, in an institution, school education or higher education,” he said.  

He said exhaustive and detailed guidelines on coaching centers were issued to all states in January, 2024.

“Some states also have regulations, like Rajasthan, Bihar, Goa. They have their own regulations to look into the matter,” he said.  

“Regarding the protection, this is a socio-psychological issue. We all have to take care. This is not an issue to be dealt with through only allegations and answers,” he said.

Three civil services aspirants died on Saturday after the basement of a building housing a coaching centre in central Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar area was flooded following heavy rains.

In his reply to another question, Mr Pradhan dismissed that India was witnessing “brain-drain” with students going abroad for higher education. The students who go outside have made the country proud, he said.

TMC MP Saugata Roy asked if the number of students going abroad is increasing. He said good quality higher education not being available in India was the reason behind the “brain-drain”.  

The education minister asserted the intelligence of Indian students should not be criticised for political reasons, and also said there is no dearth of high quality education institutions in the country.  

He named Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Adobe Systems CEO Shantanu Narayen, and IBM CEO Arvind Krishna among those who came out of the Indian education system. India is proud of them, he said.

“Go to any economic hotspot, Indians are thriving there… We grow due to this connectivity. The globe is shrinking into a village. Depriving our next generation of the good standards of the world is wrong,” he said.  Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, however, said that the top institutions named by the minister are like just a “few islands of excellence in a vast ocean of mediocrity”, and improvement is required.  

Mr Pradhan in reply said he is open to suggestions, and added that the government is stressing on quality education, and there are ranking systems to evaluate it.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

During the discussion on the Union Budget on Monday in the Lok Sabha, Congress MP KC Venugopal highlighted the tragic deaths of three UPSC students in the basement of a coaching centre in Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar and also raised concerns about discrimination against SC/ST students in higher educational institutions.

Highlighting the rising suicides, he noted, “In the Upper House, a Minister answered this question in 2023, stating that from 2018 to 2022, around 18 students committed suicide in higher education institutions, including IITs and IIMs. One of the main reasons is caste discrimination occurring in these institutions. This issue should be urgently considered.”

Mr Venugopal also addressed the issue of safety and regulation in coaching centres across the country, pointing to the recent tragedy in the national capital’s Old Rajinder Nagar.

“The day before yesterday, a very sad incident happened in a coaching centre in New Delhi, where three students lost their valuable lives. This centre, as per media reports, was operating without proper approval or facilities. Some coaching centres have become ‘mafias’. Will the government take any action?” the Congress MP questioned.

In response, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan assured that the government is committed to the socio-psychological and mental protection of all students, regardless of where they study.

“Honourable member has raised a question, which is not related to the question of the day, but I would assure, through you, that this government is committed to socio-psychological and mental protection of all kinds of students, whether they are studying in the coaching centre, institution, school or high educational institutes,” he said, replying to Mr Venugopal.

#BudgetSession2024

Union Education Minister @dpradhanbjp replies to the questions asked by member during #QuestionHour in #LokSabha regarding Suicide Cases of Students in Kota Rajasthan.@ombirlakota@LokSabhaSectt#Budget2024@EduMinOfIndiapic.twitter.com/iPI8gWbajc

— SansadTV (@sansad_tv) July 29, 2024

Regarding coaching centres, he mentioned, “The Government of India issued the latest guidelines in January. There is an exhaustive and detailed guideline for all the states. And a lot of states, including Rajasthan, Bihar, Goa, etc., have their own guidelines and regulations to look into this matter.”

Emphasising that the issue of student suicides and discrimination is complex and not merely a matter of policy enforcement, the Union Education Minister noted, “Regarding the protection, this is a socio-psychological issue that we all have to take care of. This is not an issue to deal with only through allegations and answers.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday accused the opposition of trying to create “anarchy” and “civil unrest” using the NEET-UG issue and said with the Supreme Court verdict related to the controversy-ridden exam, “truth has prevailed”.

The opposition should apologise to students and their parents for “misleading” them, Mr Pradhan said as he announced that the final results for the medical entrance 2024 NEET-UG exam will be declared within two days according to the observations made by the Supreme Court.

The court on Tuesday dismissed the pleas seeking cancellation and re-test of the 2024 NEET-UG, holding that there was no evidence on record to conclude that it was “vitiated” on account of “systemic breach” of its sanctity.

The interim verdict, to be followed by a detailed and reasoned order, came as a shot in the arm for the embattled BJP-led NDA government and the National Testing Agency (NTA), which were facing strong criticism and protests, on streets and in Parliament, over alleged large-scale malpractices like question paper leak, fraud and impersonation in the prestigious test held on May 5.

The revised final results of the exam will be announced taking into account marks of a physics question, which the NTA said had two correct answers. The revised result likely to reduce the number of toppers as 44 out of 61 toppers had shared the top rank because of this.

“The apex court dismissed the pleas seeking cancellation and re-test of the 2024 NEET-UG, holding that there was no evidence on record to conclude that the sanctity of the exam has been violated. Today’s verdict on NEET-UG will put speculation to rest and provide relief to lakhs of hardworking and honest students,” Pradhan told a press conference here.

“The judgement will open the eyes of those who rubbished the Indian examination system and grabbed this opportunity for vested interests, scoring political brownies and stoking ‘civil unrest and anarchy’. They should apologise for playing with the sentiments of lakhs of students and their parents as well as for trying to gain political mileage out of it,” he said.

Hailing the Supreme Court decision, the education minister said “Satyamav Jayate, truth has prevailed”.

“We have been saying this from the beginning that our priority is the students of this country. The government’s priority has always been to see that there should be no tampering with the future of students. For the last 2-2.5 months, the government’s stand has been that there has not been any large-scale breach. Today, the Supreme Court has upheld that in its final judgment,” he said.

The education minister also slammed Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for calling the country’s examination system “rubbish”, and said he and the opposition should apologise to students and their parents.

“When the NEET matter came to light, the opposition’s role became clear after the Supreme Court’s judgement today. The attitude that the Lok Sabha LoP had adopted until yesterday, invalidating the examination system of the country and calling it ‘rubbish’ proves his mental status…Criticising this, Rahul Gandhi ji has criticised India,” he said.

“Misleading the students of the country, creating confusion and provoking them for social tensions were all planned as part of his politics. By rejecting the electoral results in the country, anarchy and civil unrest have become a part of his strategy,” the minister said.

Pradhan said he appeals to Gandhi and all the people of the opposition “who were involved in such irresponsible actions that they should apologise to students, the youth and parents of the country”.

“You have hurt the country, attempted to create anarchy in the country, conspired to have civil unrest in the country. The country will not forgive you. Political rivalry can be different but students belong to everyone,” he said.

The minister said the government’s major concern was students from weaker sections of society and scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and rural students. The apex court also took that into account while pronouncing its decision, he said.

“For us, zero tolerance to any kind of breach is priority when it comes to exams for students. Be it for higher education or jobs. Therefore, the Modi government has brought into effect a strict law like the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act,” he said.

Pradhan said the government has promised the Supreme Court that it will be committed to have a transparent, tamper-free and zero-error examination system.

“Taking this commitment forward, we announced a high-level committee for a complete revamp of the NTA. That committee is working dedicatedly. The committee has collected expert opinions and studied various models…They will submit a report soon,” he said.

On the issue of a controversial physics question that was asked in the examination, the Supreme Court bench accepted the report of the experts of IIT-Delhi that there was only one right answer and not two as alleged by some lawyers.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. File
| Photo Credit: ANI

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on June 30 said new railway projects worth ₹1 lakh crore will be implemented in Odisha in the next five years.

Mr. Vaishnaw said this while addressing a felicitation programme organised by Odisha BJP in Bhubaneswar to felicitate the party’s 20 MPs and 78 MLAs elected in recently held Lok Sabha elections and Assembly elections in Odisha.

“The Congress government and the then Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government have neglected the development of the railway sector in Odisha. So, with the formation of a double-engine government of the BJP in Odisha and Centre, now, the gap created during the past years, will be met by creating a new record in these five years,” he said.

“Though many mega railway projects have been sanctioned, those were delayed due to delay in land acquisition by the previous BJD government,” said Mr. Vaishnaw, adding, “Now double engine government is formed and the pace of the railway projects will be accelerated.”

The Union Minister said the allocation to Odisha in the Railway Budget has been enhanced from ₹800 crore during the UPA government tenure to more than ₹10,000 crore during Modi government.

“During the past three consecutive years, more than ₹10,000 crore has been allocated to the State in the railway sector,” he said.

Mr. Vaishnaw further said a new railway line of 1,826 km was constructed in Odisha during the last 10 years, which is higher than the total railway network of Sri Lanka (1,700 km). He also said that 315 special trains will run to and from Puri during the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath for smooth travel and convenience of the pilgrims. “Last year, 222 trains were run during the Rath Yatra. The special trains have been planned from 25 districts of Odisha,” he added.

Mr. Vaishnaw, who is also the IT Minister, said that an electronic manufacturing cluster and a semi-conductor training centre will be set up in Odisha.

Congratulating the newly elected MLAs and MPs, he expressed confidence that the BJP government will continue to serve the people of Odisha for the next 50 years. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and two Deputy Chief Ministers K. V. Singh Deo and Pravati Parida are like Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra who have been given a big responsibility for the development of the State.

A lot of first-time MLAs and MPs have been elected in this election and the State for the first time has CM and Deputy CMs belonging to the BJP. With this team, a new Odisha will be built which will help in building a ‘Viksit Bharat’, Mr. Pradhan said.

Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram advised the BJP MLAs and MPs to have a mindset of ‘nation first, party second and self last’.

Mr. Oram said the BJP has helped the BJD to form a government in the State to end the Congress government. “But, they became “arrogant and became worse” like the Congress government. So, people have elected the BJP government,” he said.

Under fire for the irregularities in NEET and the cancellation of the UGC-NET exam, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said that a high-level committee will be formed and that the interest of the students is the first priority of the government. 

Over 30 lakh candidates appeared for the exams, both of which were conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), and the minister’s comments came on a day when students held protests in various parts of the country, including outside Mr Pradhan’s home in Delhi. Some were also detained. 

New Delhi:

Amid concerns about the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission into medical colleges, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan admitted “improvements are needed” in the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the nationwide exam for medical college aspirants. 

Speaking to news agency ANI, the minister assured action against NTA officials if they were found guilty of the “irregularities” in NEET 2024 (Undergraduate) exams.

“On the recommendations of the Supreme Court, the order has been given for retest of 1,563 candidates. Some irregularities have come to light in two places. I assure students and parents that the government has taken this seriously,” Dharmendra Pradhan told ANI.

“Even if the big officials of the NTA are found guilty, they will not be spared. A lot of improvement is required in NTA. The government is concerned about this, no culprit will be spared, they will get the harshest punishment,” he said.

Last week, the NTA told the Supreme Court that grace marks given to 1,563 candidates in the NEET-UG exam would be scrapped and the candidates had the option of taking the exam again on June 23. The results of the re-test will be declared before June 30, the top court was told.

If any of these candidates chose to not take the re-test, their earlier score would be reinstated without the extra marks.

Results for the medical entrance examination, which was taken by 24 lakh students on May 5, were declared on June 4. Allegations of an exam paper leak soon surfaced. As many as 67 students got a perfect score of 720/720.

Grace marks were given to several students allegedly to compensate for loss of time at the exam centre.

Many student organizations have protested over the alleged NEET irregularities, including wrong question papers being distributed, Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets being torn, or delays in the distribution of the sheets.

Amid opposition attacks over the exam row, the Education Minister had told NDTV that students and parents should not panic.

“Certain allegations and loose information are coming in. Let us wait for the probe by the authorities concerned. Let’s wait till July 8 for the Supreme Court’s judgment. There’s nothing to hide…” he told NDTV.

Bhubaneswar:

The participation of women in the country’s workforce increased to 37 per cent in the 2022-23 fiscal, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.

Speaking at the ‘Rozgar Mela’ here, he said the figure was 23 per cent in 2017-18.

“There has been balanced growth in society, as there has been a rise in women’s participation in the workforce,” he said, noting that women are more hard-working than men.

The Narendra Modi government’s women-focused schemes have helped in raising the participation of women in the workforce, Pradhan said on Saturday.

The Centre has been giving priority to women in policy-making and leadership roles, he said.

The minister also underscored the importance of re-skilling and up-skilling working women to help them adapt to changing technologies.

The rate of unemployment in the country has come down to 3.7 per cent in 2022-23 from 6 per cent in 2017-18, he said.

At the programme, Mr Pradhan distributed appointment letters of different central organisations to 172 people.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)