Kota: In Kota, where hope is measured in mock tests and rank lists, students gathered on Wednesday evening to ask for something more basic than success: certainty. Shaken by last month’s NEET paper leak and the cancellation that followed, aspirants from several states filled Dussehra Maidan with a demand that cut through the music, comedy and campaign slogans — secure the exam before it secures their fate.
Students came in large numbers for the Dialogue with Rahul Gandhi at Dashahara Maidan in Kota, Rajasthan on 17 June 2026
The ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ rally had the energy of a youth festival, with rap performances, a comedy act and students waiting for Rahul Gandhi’s arrival. But beneath the stage lights ran a darker current. Many students headed first to the signature campaign board, where one line became a popular selfie backdrop: “CBSE OSM is a scam”.For students who have built their lives around entrance exams, the leak was not just a breach of paper but of trust. Some said friends who had appeared for NEET on May 3 had already sold or passed on their notes, believing the test was behind them, only to be pulled back into uncertainty after the cancellation. Others spoke of anxiety, exhaustion and a fear that repeated assurances after every leak had become another ritual in a broken system.Aweez Fatima, a student from Bihar preparing to appear for NEET in 2028, said the repeated assurances after past exam leaks had not inspired confidence.“Two years ago in 2024, when the NEET exam was compromised, we were told that things will improve and such things would not happen when we will be preparing, but the situation has worsened now. Again we are being told that strict measures will be put in place, but what is the guarantee that our future would not be compromised?” she said.
Mahi agarwal from Chattisgarh class 11, Aweez fatima class 11 from bihar, Kashish komal from BiharClass 11, Ayushi kumari Bihar interact ahead of Dialogue with Rahul Gandhi at Dashahara Maidan in Kota, Rajasthan on 17 June 2026
Students said many of their peers who appeared for the NEET exam on May 3 had handed over their notes to juniors, sold them, or returned home after the test. Within days, they learnt the exam had been cancelled.“Who knew that they would need their notes again? Already dealing with anxiety, now they are facing difficulty in preparing for re-NEET as they don’t have their own notes,” said Mahi Agarwal, a student from Chhattisgarh.As students waited for Rahul Gandhi to arrive at the rally and a comedian performed on stage, one student said the repeated collapse of exam systems had taken a severe emotional toll.“The education system is so rotten that even after putting all efforts, when the exam gets cancelled due to a leak, students lose hope, which leads to suicides. The future seems too dark to them…” the student said.Kashish Komal, a Class 11 student from Bihar, questioned whether paper leaks and the protests that follow would become the new normal.“If students have to protest so frequently because of a flawed system, the govt will then stop taking students seriously, because protests have anyway become an everyday affair. Ideally, the bigger the exam, the better the security must be, but just in the past few weeks we have seen how students’ future is being put at stake in key exams like CBSE board exams or NEET,” said Komal.
