Kharge pitches for ‘education-to-employment’ roadmap for youth, attacks govt

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge urged for a time-bound "education-to-employment roadmap" on Wednesday at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, aiming to bridge the gap between education and job creation to position the party as the champion of Gen Z voters. He criticized the central government's failure to support the youth through privatized higher education, exam scandals, and chronic unemployment, which disproportionately affect the poor.

Kharge's youth outreach follows weeks of student protests in Delhi and other parts of India, triggered by frustration over exam paper leaks and resulting in the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The Congress leader emphasized the need for a clear, comprehensive, and time-bound roadmap to prepare for the future, considering the youth as the primary focus of their collective concern.

Kharge recalled the contributions of previous Congress governments in promoting IT, lowering the voting age, and expanding school and college education post-independence. However, he noted that under the Modi government, 94,000 schools have closed in recent years as the race towards privatization has driven higher education costs up and made it unaffordable for ordinary families. Furthermore, educational institutions are being taken over by RSS affiliates.

The Congress president explained how young individuals who complete their education encounter challenges such as paper leaks, recruitment exam scandals, and corresponding delays in finding jobs. He stated that the anger among the youth is not a recent issue, as the current government has consistently failed to listen to their concerns, opting for temporary solutions instead. Consequently, they have resorted to demonstrations.

Kharge highlighted Rahul Gandhi's "Chhatron Ki Goonj" (Voice of Students) initiative as a crucial step in bringing student grievances to the national stage. Deputy Political Editor Saubhadra Chatterji of the Hindustan Times reported on the incident.