Ahmedabad, June 22 (AHN) The Congress on Monday claimed that at least 12 students died by suicide in connection with the pressure surrounding the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and demanded sweeping changes to the education system, citing student suicides, rising academic stress and recurring concerns over examination irregularities.

Addressing a press conference in Ahmedabad, Congress spokesperson Dr Manish Doshi said the deaths linked to NEET had highlighted what he described as the growing burden of competitive examinations on young people and their families.

“Recently, we witnessed around 12 students taking the extreme step due to frustration and despair associated with NEET. This is a matter of concern and pain for all of us. It is not only the loss of a child but also the shattering of a family's dreams,” Doshi said.

He referred to data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), claiming that 63,915 children and adolescents below the age of 18 died by suicide across India between 2019 and 2024.

According to the figures cited by him, between 35 and 40 adolescents die by suicide on average every day in the country, and cases involving children increased by nearly 16 per cent during the period.

Doshi also highlighted figures for Gujarat, saying "1,063 children and adolescents had died by suicide in the state over the past four years".

He presented a year-wise breakdown showing 151 cases in 2020-21, 161 in 2021-22, 183 in 2023-24 and 568 in 2024-25. “These are not merely statistics. Behind every number is a grieving family, a broken dream and an unfinished future,” he said.

The Congress leader attributed the situation to sustained examination pressure, increasing competition, the commercialisation of education and anxiety over academic performance.

He also alleged that governments had failed to create a supportive educational environment and had not acted effectively against paper leak networks.

“Students work day and night, families spend lakhs of rupees on education, and yet the system betrays their trust. The government must take concrete steps to improve the academic environment and reduce the burden on students,” Doshi said.

He questioned who should be held accountable for what he described as “open exploitation” in the name of education, paper leaks and student suicides, and alleged that the BJP government's education model had failed to address the challenges faced by young people.

The Congress demanded policy changes aimed at reducing academic pressure and called for action against coaching centre operators and paper leak syndicates.

The remarks come a day after the National Testing Agency (NTA) concluded the NEET-UG re-examination conducted across India and overseas centres under heightened security arrangements following allegations of a question paper leak in the original examination.

More than 22 lakh candidates were eligible to appear at over 5,400 examination centres in 551 Indian cities and 14 international locations.

The re-examination was held with biometric verification, CCTV surveillance, AI-assisted monitoring and extensive police deployment.

The NTA said the examination was conducted smoothly and that no complaints relating to paper leaks had been received during the re-test.