New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) Participating in the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill in Rajya Sabha, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) member Praful Patel on Thursday questioned the language the protesters used during the protest.
Patel said the events of the past few months had upset everyone and urged that the issue of paper leaks be discussed without politicisation, as it concerned the future of the country’s youth.
While supporting the democratic right to protest, the NCP member questioned the kind of language used during the demonstrations and called for correct guidance for young people.
He said that the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill should be viewed as a reflection of the Union government’s strength and its efforts to take the country forward, rather than as a sign of weakness.
Other Opposition members used the debate in the Rajya Sabha to sharply criticise the National Testing Agency and demand deeper systemic changes.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Kumar Jha called for the dismantling of the National Testing Agency, saying that the problem must be eliminated from the source.
He urged Union Health Minister JP Nadda to take the lead on this.
Jha recalled a conversation with Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary about GATE candidates being required to reappear for exams even at the age of 53 or 54, while noting that Vice-Chancellors continue to lead universities without facing any such examinations.
Aaam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh began by paying tribute to the 1.23 lakh students who have ended their lives over the past 10 years.
He highlighted the heavy backlog of cases in fast-track courts and the lack of adequate facilities in schools and the education system.
Singh raised serious questions over the use of excessive force during student protests in Delhi and Bihar, alleging that police had fired AK-47 rifles at students in Bihar and accusing the Union government of behaving like terrorists.
He also targeted the EduTest company, which has conducted examinations in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and has been blacklisted in all three states, alleging that the firm continued to receive examination contracts due to the government’s unfair bias.
Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav questioned the effectiveness of merely increasing punishments for examination-related crimes.
“Only increasing punishment will not prevent the crime from happening,” he said.
Yadav proposed that the NEET examination be abolished and that states be given the authority to conduct their own entrance tests for medical education.
–IANS
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