Former YSR Congress Party leader and ex-Rajya Sabha member V Vijaya Sai Reddy, who has been regularly expressing his views on controversial issues, has once again raised strong concerns about the present examination system.
Taking to social media platform X, Sai Reddy called for comprehensive reforms in India’s examination system and greater employment generation amid the ongoing national debate over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations, including the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test.
Student protests over alleged paper leaks and irregularities in national-level competitive examinations have attracted widespread attention in recent weeks.
Demonstrators gathered at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and later attempted to march towards Parliament, during which several protesters were reportedly injured in clashes with the police.
The protests and the Centre’s handling of the issue have sparked widespread public debate on examination reforms, transparency and accountability.
Against this backdrop, Sai Reddy posted a message on social media discussing the broader issues surrounding competitive examinations, paper leaks and the pressure faced by aspirants.
Without directly naming either the Union government or the protesting students, he offered his views on the structural challenges confronting India’s examination system.
In his post, the former MP said protests over examination paper leaks are uncommon in many developed countries because excessive importance is not attached to a handful of competitive examinations.
He argued that, in India, millions of middle-class youth view competitive examinations as their main route to economic mobility and career advancement.
While stressing the need to strengthen the integrity and credibility of the country’s examination system, he also urged policymakers to create more high-quality white-collar jobs and alternative career paths.
According to Sai Reddy, such reforms would ensure that failure in a single competitive examination is not seen as the end of a young person’s future, thereby reducing the enormous pressure placed on students.
“You will not see protests over paper leaks in developed countries because they do not place overwhelming importance on a handful of competitive examinations. In India, for crores of middle-class youth, these exams are seen as the primary path to economic mobility,” Sai Reddy said.
“While strengthening the integrity of our examination system is essential, we must also create more high-quality white-collar jobs and alternative career pathways so that failing one competitive exam is not seen as the end of a young person’s future,” he added.
