Rahul Gandhi suddenly reached Delhi University, talked to students about new education policy and reservation

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday visited the North Campus of Delhi University to interact with students from Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Class (OBC) communities, focusing on issues of representation, equity and educational justice. The interactive session held at the office of the President of Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) saw enthusiastic participation from students from several colleges and departments. A statement from DUSU said that while interacting with the students, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha highlighted the importance of democratic participation and inclusive academic spaces. The students raised concerns over caste-based discrimination, lack of representation of marginalised communities in faculty positions and top administrative posts, and their exclusion from appointments in top multinational corporations. They also expressed grievances about the disproportionate academic load of skill enhancement courses (SEC) and value addition courses (VAC) under the National Education Policy (NEP), which they alleged gave excessive power to faculty members. Another major issue was the marking of ER (required repetition), NA (not available) and absent statuses, which students claimed was being misused, affecting thousands of people. Rahul Gandhi urged students to draw inspiration from B R Ambedkar’s message of “Educate, Agitate and Organise”, as he encouraged students to play an active role in creating a just and inclusive educational ecosystem. “The role of students goes beyond classrooms – they must stand up for the rights of the oppressed and deprived,” the Congress leader said.