Mysuru: Activists of the All India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO) staged a protest demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over NEET question paper leak fiasco.

The protest was held near Ramaswamy Circle on Friday, where demonstrators claimed the NEET paper leak was not an isolated incident but part of a recurring pattern of systemic failure. They pointed out alleged leaks in 2022 and 2024, arguing that despite arrests in earlier cases, authorities had failed to identify the root of the problem.

The protesters said repeated leaks every year reflect a lack of accountability from both the Education Ministry and the National Testing Agency (National Testing Agency). They accused the system of endangering the future of lakhs of students and said no institution had taken responsibility for the lapses.

AIDSO state treasurer Subhash Bettada Koppa claimed that the NEET coaching industry generates revenues exceeding 1 lakh crore annually, while families collectively spend around 1.32 lakh crore on exam preparation. He compared this to the Union government's education budget of about 1.4 lakh crore, alleging that public education is increasingly dominated by a powerful coaching industry.

He also cited broader social distress, claiming that student suicides have outpaced farmer suicides in the past decade. He further alleged that recent exam-related stress had led to multiple student deaths, calling the situation a "systemic crisis" rather than an isolated failure.

AIDSO district president Chandrakala said education had been reduced to a commercial commodity, arguing that medical education has been turned into a highly profitable sector that limits opportunities for students from rural and economically weaker backgrounds.

The protesters demanded the abolition of the NTA, strict punishment for those responsible for the alleged irregularities, and the resignation of Pradhan.