New Delhi [India], May 25 : Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convener Arvind Kejriwal, on Monday, in a blistering attack on the Central Government, demanded the immediate dismissal of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Citing alleged irregularities in the CBSE evaluation process and the recent NEET-UG controversy, Kejriwal termed the minister "incompetent and useless."
In a video message posted on X, Kejriwal expressed grave concern over the future of millions of students, claiming that a "huge scam" has surfaced in the way CBSE papers are being evaluated.
"A huge scam has come to light in the CBSE evaluation process. I think after this, Prime Minister Modi should immediately dismiss Dharmendra Pradhan. Dharmendra Pradhan is not fit to be the Education Minister of this country for even a day, even for a second. First, there was the NEET rigging, and now such a big rigging has come out in the CBSE evaluation process," Kejriwal said.
The AAP leader highlighted the mental toll these controversies are taking on the youth and their families.
"Millions of Class 12 students across the country are under so much stress, so much depression, and their parents are also in deep depression. Students are demanding that the revaluation process for those who ask for it should be done manually, the revaluation fee should be waived, and the OSM (On-Screen Marking) process should be completely scrapped," he added.
Kejriwal further criticised the technical failures of the education department, sharing an anecdote regarding the difficulties faced by students during the digital process.
"A friend of mine told me about his daughter, who managed to log in only after trying 40 times. Their payment gateway isn't working. The scans they've done are all blurred. Is this how they will make India a 21st-century nation? These people should be ashamed," the Delhi CM remarked.
Concluding his message with a direct appeal to the Prime Minister, Kejriwal said, "So, the Prime Minister can at least do this much; millions of children in our country cannot be put through trauma because of an 'incompetent and useless' Education Minister. The Prime Minister should immediately dismiss Dharmendra Pradhan within a minute."
The CBSE on Tuesday opened the post-result facilities for students through its official websites, CBSE and CBSE Re-evaluation Portal, amid concerns over lower-than-expected Class 12 scores and the implementation of the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system.
However, many students alleged that they were unable to access the portal after the application window opened. Several candidates claimed that clicking on the re-evaluation link redirected them to a blank or non-responsive page.
Several Class 12 students, who attempted to apply for re-evaluation and verification of marks on the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) portal, reported technical glitches, including blank pages, unresponsive links and captcha-related issues, even as the board maintained that the website was functioning properly.