Rahul Gandhi slams NTA after Nagpur student gets Abu Dhabi centre for NEET re-exam

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday slammed the Centre after a NEET aspirant from Nagpur, who had been preparing for the re-examination, received an admit card showing Abu Dhabi as his examination center just a day before the test.

Taking to X, Gandhi highlighted the student’s ordeal and questioned the functioning of the examination system. “A child from Nagpur had been preparing for the NEET re-exam for a month. Just one day before yesterday’s exam, he downloaded his admit card. His centre turned out to be — Abu Dhabi. No passport, no money in the family to send him abroad, and no time left now. He cried all night and is refusing to take the exam — what kind of stress is this, can you even imagine?” Gandhi wrote.

He alleged that the incident caused immense mental stress, leaving the aspirant distraught and unwilling to appear for the examination.

The student, who was originally assigned a centre at Saraswati Vidyalaya in Nagpur for the initial examination, discovered the error only after downloading his fresh admit card following the rescheduling of the exam in the wake of the alleged paper leak controversy.

Gandhi also questioned how such an error could have occurred and accused the National Testing Agency (NTA) of putting students and their families through unnecessary hardship.

नागपुर का एक बच्चा एक महीने से NEET re-exam की तैयारी कर रहा था।

कल परीक्षा से ठीक एक दिन पहले उसने admit card डाउनलोड किया। उसका सेंटर निकला – अबू धाबी।

न पासपोर्ट, न परिवार के पास विदेश भेजने के पैसे, न अब कोई वक़्त बचा है। वो रातभर रोता रहा, और परीक्षा देने से ही मना कर रहा… https://t.co/TJOHUBnFDB

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 20, 2026

“How did this even happen? Yesterday, no student should have had any complaint about not being able to reach their centre. The NTA is actually just testing the patience of the country’s children and their parents,” he said.

He further argued that a system incapable of assigning an examination centre in a student’s own city had no right to conduct such high-stakes exams.

The family has since lodged a complaint with the NTA helpline. The agency reportedly acknowledged the error and assured them a revised admit card would be issued following verification.

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Referring to his recent visit to Kota, where he met students and expressed solidarity with them, Gandhi said the country’s education system was failing young people.

“This is no longer an education system. This is nothing but extortion of an entire generation’s money, time and mental peace,” he said.

Urging the government to stop experimenting with students’ futures, Gandhi added: “Stop gambling with our children’s future. They deserve a sensitive, responsible and accountable education system and exam authority — and we will ensure they get it.”

Rahul Gandhi in Kota

Rahul Gandhi recently visited Kota amid the NEET controversy to meet students and draw attention to the challenges they face. The Leader of Opposition began his address by emphasising that the gathering was not a political event. “This is not about the BJP, Congress or elections. This evening is about you and the challenges you are facing,” Gandhi said, a day after the BJP held protests and a press conference in Kota accusing him of politicising the issue.

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Referring to his Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi said many young people he met spoke of their dreams of becoming IAS officers, doctors, engineers and lawyers. This, he said, led him to question whether India’s education system was adequately supporting students in achieving those aspirations.

Speaking about NEET, Gandhi noted that nearly 22 lakh students appear for the examination every year. He claimed that families collectively spend around Rs 1.32 lakh crore on coaching classes, hostel accommodation, food, books and examination-related expenses.

In comparison, he said, the Union government’s annual education budget stands at roughly Rs 1.4 lakh crore, arguing that Indian families spend almost as much preparing for a single examination as the country spends on education in an entire year.