The issue of the death of three UPSC students due to drowning in the basement of RAU’S IAS Study Centre in Old Rajendra Nagar, Delhi was raised in both the Houses of Parliament on Monday. MPs from the ruling and opposition parties expressed extreme concern, calling the incident in the country’s capital unfortunate. MPs, breaking party lines, raised the issue of safety of students studying in coaching institutes and preparing for competitive examinations. Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar criticized the commercialization of coaching centers and highlighted their frequent advertisements in newspapers.
He said, ‘Every day we see in newspapers… on the first, second, third page there are advertisements of coaching institutes. Where does this huge expenditure come from? It comes from the student who wants to fulfill his dreams. I would request the members of the House to give suggestions on this issue. The scope of coaching is very limited. This India needs SKILL. Coaching is binding everyone in a limited scope, it has become a silo (tower-like structure), which is no less than a gas chamber, this incident is sad.’
“Coaching has virtually become a business. Whenever we read the newspaper, there are advertisements on the first page or two.”
Statement by the Hon’ble Vice President in the Upper House on the death of UPSC candidates due to drowning at a coaching centre in Delhi.
The Vice President further said that he… pic.twitter.com/185Xm8VmAz
— Vice President of India (@VPIndia) July 29, 2024
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar agreed to a short discussion in the House on this tragic incident and vowed to meet the leaders of all parties and discuss this matter. BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi, speaking on this issue, said- Those who should have been responsible for this accident, did not have a tear in their eyes, let alone a wrinkle on their forehead. They were seen spreading confusion with complete negligence.
He said, ‘Many complaints were made by the students. A student had complained on 26 June that classes were being conducted in the basement of RAU’S IAS without permission and NOC. On 9 July, the fire department gave NOC to the same building for storage. Was the NOC given without inspection? The lives of children have been deliberately put in danger. This is a criminal act. Such a big incident happened but not a single word came from the Chief Minister of Delhi, only news of his weight loss came.’
Congress MP KC Venugopal also raised this issue in the Lok Sabha and said that coaching centers are now becoming mafia. He also demanded strict action from the government against the accused. He said, ‘The issue of student suicide is one of the most important issues in the country. In the other house (Rajya Sabha) in 2023, the minister replied that in the 5 years between 2018 and 2022, 80 students committed suicide in institutions like IIT and IIM alone. Day before yesterday, three students lost their lives in a coaching center in Delhi. This coaching center did not have any approved building. Some coaching centers have become mafia. When is the government going to take any action against them?’
New Delhi Lok Sabha MP and BJP leader Bansuri Swaraj criticised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government for the incident, saying it was their apathy that led to the death of three UPSC aspirants in the national capital. BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal also criticised the AAP and said, “It is not about blame game. The MCD is under the Aam Aadmi Party and the same party has been ruling Delhi for the last 9 years. Such incidents happen every year but the Aam Aadmi Party has not come up with any concrete solution to deal with this problem. The officials who are responsible for this should be given strict punishment so that such incidents are not repeated in future… Sealing a few coaching institutes alone will not provide a long-term solution.”