During the 'Voice of Students' event held in Dehradun on Friday, Rahul Gandhi sharply criticized the central government, raising issues concerning youth, employment, government jobs, exam leaks, and the education system.
During the 'Voice of Students' event held in Dehradun on Friday, Rahul Gandhi sharply criticized the central government, raising issues concerning youth, employment, government jobs, exam leaks, and the education system.
He asserted that the entire country's educational system is in crisis due to the leakage of examination materials, affecting 75 million students so far. Gandhi emphasized that this event is dedicated to discussing the problems and struggles of the youth, not being a political show. He stated that the main issue in India currently is the future of its children and youth.
According to Rahul, only 1 percent of people use money and connections to organize leaks, while the future of 99 percent of honest and poor students is at risk. He claimed that the level of leaks has reached such a point that there are 'menu cards' for various exams. He cited an example where, with millions of rupees, one can choose a desired exam from the menu card, which, in his words, reflects the current state of education in India.
The Congress leader noted that despite the constant occurrence of leak incidents, none of the culprits have received severe punishment yet. He reported that 75 million candidates have been affected by 152 leak incidents, yet no one has been found guilty or punished. Furthermore, he insisted that institutions like the National Testing Agency (NTA) and universities must be free from political influence and operate independently of any political party.
Rahul Gandhi also stated that four main avenues for youth employment in India are practically closed. He attributed this to the weakening of the manufacturing sector, difficulties in obtaining bank loans for entrepreneurship, the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the IT sector, and the growth of privatization in the public sector. In his assessment, government service remains the most significant option for the youth. However, he noted that while about 90 million young people prepare for government service, only about 600,000 find employment.
During the program, the father of NEET candidate Riya Tapa, who recently allegedly committed suicide, appeared on stage. He emotionally appealed to Rahul Gandhi to seek justice, noting that the government had shown no interest in his family's affairs. The father shared that his daughter was extremely dissatisfied with the system and the NTA. Speaking with students, Rahul Gandhi stated that millions of young people preparing for competitive exams face financial, psychological, and social pressure, and these issues must be resolved.
According to data from New Delhi, there was a regional decline in attendance for the NEET-UG exam in 2026. Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka recorded high rates of participant absence, while Rajasthan increased its candidate base and demonstrated the highest qualification level among major states.
Kerala registered 1.14 lakh registrations, but only 84,664 candidates actually appeared, meaning 29,122 people were absent (25.6%). In Tamil Nadu, 33,893 out of 1.42 lakh registered did not attend (23.8%), and Karnataka recorded 28,288 instances of non-attendance (19.4%).
The absence rate in Maharashtra was lower but still high—9.8%, with 21,749 candidates not showing up for the exam. These figures are calculated based on the total number of registrations. In contrast, in northern regions like Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, the absence rate was 7.9% and 7.6%, respectively.
The number of attendees in Kerala decreased from 1.22 lakh in 2025 to 84,664 this year, representing a drop of more than 30%. The number of qualified candidates in Kerala decreased by 21,546, totaling 51,782. In Tamil Nadu, despite an increase in registrations by 2,336 compared to last year, 27,114 fewer people attended, and the number of qualifiers decreased by 14,875. In Karnataka, the number of qualifiers fell by 17,681.
Rajasthan showed the opposite trend: the number of registrations grew by 15.5%, reaching nearly 2.1 lakh from the previous 1.81 lakh. Furthermore, the number of qualified candidates increased by 13,275, totaling 1.33 lakh. The state achieved a qualification rate of 69.3% among those who appeared, which is the highest among large states and strengthens Rajasthan's reputation as a center for medical entrance preparation in the country.
In Punjab, registrations rose by 18.6% to 34,858, and in Jammu and Kashmir—from 50,957 to 56,420. The 'other, including outside India' category more than doubled, increasing from 1,997 to 4,732. NRI registrations increased from 741 to 1,066, representing an increase of almost 44%.
Following the cancellation of the NEET-UG exam in May, which tested participants' knowledge, and its subsequent re-administration in June, nearly two million applicants received an unexpected second chance. Many of them resumed their preparation, restoring study materials, limiting mobile phone use, and continuing their studies under difficult conditions.
Participants recovered their study guides, which they had previously shared with others. Some, for instance, in Baramati, took a break from using mobile phones, while in Hanumangarh, they prepared in Hindi. In Srinagar, studies continued even during power outages.
On Thursday, the names of these students appeared on a unified list of notable achievers, reflecting not only their scores but also their ability to cope with having to take the exam twice. Aryan Gupta achieved the highest score in the country, scoring 715 out of 720, which secured him AIR 1. He stated that he decided not to think too much about it.
After sharing the top score, Panshul Bansal from Faridabad secured second place in the ranking due to tie-breaking rules. His father recounted discovering him crying after the exam cancellation announcement, but Panshul quickly returned to his pursuits of music, badminton, Rubik's cubes, and disciplined study.
Only 19 out of almost two million candidates crossed the 700-mark threshold. Shravani from Baramati, who ranked AIR 5, used daily meditation to reduce pressure. The list also noted more modest breakthroughs: Ayush Bhalotia from Nawada, who ranked AIR 4, will be the first doctor from his village in Bihar. Abhilash from Hanumangarh, who ranked AIR 11, became the leader among those who took the exam in Indian language, choosing Hindi. Adiya Nisar from Srinagar, who ranked AIR 99, studied during power cuts and dedicated her result to 'every girl in Kashmir' dreaming of medicine.
In 2026, women made up the majority among applicants and those who qualified for NEET-UG, but their share significantly decreased among the top performers, as only 30 out of 138 candidates scored 690 or above.
Women registered in a number of 13.3 lakh out of a total of 22.8 lakh registrations, which accounts for 58.5%. Furthermore, they constituted 6.5 lakh out of 11.2 lakh candidates who successfully passed the re-examination. The success rate among participating women reached 56.8%, slightly higher than the 55.1% for men. Nevertheless, women accounted for only 21.7% of the list of candidates with scores of 690 and above, indicating a persistent gap between preparation and reaching the pinnacle.
Only two women made it into the top 10: Kudale Shravani Krishna from Maharashtra with a National Rank (AIR) of 5, and Riya Ranjan from Bihar with an AIR of 6. Both are candidates from the OBC category. Among the 44 candidates noted as the best from states, territories, or international participants, 13 were women.
Aryan Gupta from Punjab took the first spot in the ranking, followed by Panshul Bansal from Haryana and Uplakshya Goyal from Rajasthan. Bihar represented two candidates in the top six: Ayush Bhalotia with an AIR of 4 and Ranjan with an AIR of 6. Rajasthan showed the highest representation in the 690+ group, with 19 candidates, and Maharashtra had 18. Together, these two states provided 37 out of 138 candidates, accounting for 26.8%.
A significant number of candidates were also represented from Tamil Nadu (12), Delhi (11), Punjab (10), while Haryana, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh each contributed nine people to the 690+ club.
By category, the list included 102 candidates from the general category, 27 from the OBC-NCL category, five from General-EWS, and four from SC. No candidate from the ST category made it onto the list of those who scored 690 or above. This picture shows that representation narrows significantly at the highest level, although it should be remembered that this list is a score range and should not be confused with the final admission pool, where reservation rules, state quotas, and counseling apply.
The list of best from states reveals another discrepancy. While several large states prepared candidates who entered the national top, the best from Ladakh was ranked AIR 55,742, and from Lakshadweep, AIR 21,815. The best from Nagaland was ranked AIR 42,124, and from Dadra and Nagar Haveli, AIR 16,657. This range demonstrates an uneven distribution of results at the highest level across different regions, even with a single national list of examination merits.
