New Delhi: “As education minister, I curse myself every time a child commits suicide,” Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Tuesday.
In what was probably his first reaction after the NEET UG 2026 paper leak, the minister said “Rakshak hi Bhakshak ban gaye (The protectors turned predators), while referring to teachers allegedly involved in the paper leak.
Dharmendra also held himself responsible for the recent suicides by several NEET UG candidates, while accusing the Congress and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi of politicising the matter.
More than 10 students have died by suicide since May 15 when the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced a re-examination as the one held on May 3 had been compromised. Many students were reportedly under stress following the paper leak controversy and in the lead-up to the re-test.
“As education minister, I curse myself every time there is a student suicide. We have to fix the broken system. But the way Congress and Rahul Gandhi used student suicides is low-level politics,” Dharmendra told NDTV.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is investigating the alleged leak, has arrested 13 people so far.
More than two million students, seeking admission to medical courses took the re-examination on June 21 amid tight security measures..
The re-examination was announced by the NTA after it received an email on May 8, claiming the paper had been leaked and pointed out similarities between a circulated guess paper and the question paper used on May 3.
Speaking on this, Dharmendra said that some people who had been given responsibility did not perform their duties as expected.
“NTA had placed its trust in certain teachers, but some of them did not fulfil their responsibility. Rakshak hi bhakshak ban gaye (the protectors themselves turned predators),” he said.
Three teachers, P V Kulkarni, Manisha Mandhare and Manisha Havaldar, were allegedly the main figures behind the leak of the chemistry, biology and physics question papers, respectively, as reported by Hindustan Times.
The government’s main focus was to ensure that deserving students across the country received a fair and secure opportunity, the minister said when speaking about the re-examination.
“The meritorious students of our country have done well, and they are going to score good marks,” Dharmendra added.
