Indian Opposition Demands Minister Resignation Over CBSE and NEET Exam Crises

India's opposition leaders launched coordinated attacks on the government over cascading failures in the national examination system, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The controversy began with widespread errors in the Central Board of Secondary Education's board exam evaluations following the introduction of a new On-Screen Marking digital system in 2026, which coincided with the Class 12 pass percentage dropping to 85.20%, the lowest since 2019.

Rahul Gandhi accused the government of suppressing dissent and branding students who raised concerns as anti-national, alleging a corruption nexus between the RSS, BJP, and university appointees. He claimed 80 paper leaks had ruined the futures of 2 crore young people. Arvind Kejriwal echoed the demand for Pradhan's dismissal, calling him incompetent and urging Gen-Z students to protest in the streets, citing over 93 paper leaks since 2014 affecting six crore youths.

Students reported severe technical glitches on the CBSE re-evaluation portal, including unresponsive links and payment gateway failures. The board refunded candidates incorrectly charged for scanned answer sheet copies and extended the photocopy request deadline to May 25. In response to the mounting crisis, Pradhan directed technical experts from IIT Madras and IIT Kanpur, along with PSU banks, to stabilize the re-evaluation portal. The Ministry of Education defended the OSM process as more objective and transparent.

The situation escalated further when the government cancelled the NEET-UG 2026 examination, originally held on May 3, due to paper leaks and irregularities. The Central Bureau of Investigation was tasked with leading the probe into the leaks, even as opposition leaders united in demanding accountability at the top of the education ministry.