- 23 July, 2026
NEW DELHI/GOA, July 23, 2026: The All India Catholic Union (AICU) has called on the Union Government to present a comprehensive White Paper on India’s education crisis and condemned the police action against students protesting at Jantar Mantar.
In a statement issued on July 23, the AICU said the proposed White Paper should examine the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, repeated disruptions and controversies surrounding NEET and other national-level examinations, and the police action against students protesting over concerns about their educational and professional futures.
The organisation also expressed concern over the treatment of Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi for supporting the protesting students.
“India’s young cannot be governed by denial. They deserve an honest, public reckoning, not evasive briefings and baton charges,” AICU National President Elias Vaz said.
“A nation that tear-gases its own students on the steps of its Parliament has a great deal to answer for,” he added, saying the AICU stood in solidarity with the protesters and with citizens who believe that dissent is “not a crime in a democracy, but its lifeblood.”
The AICU said images of students from across the country being dispersed with batons and tear gas had “shocked the democratic conscience of people.” It condemned the alleged lathi charge and use of tear gas against students and job aspirants, as well as what it described as police high-handedness towards Rahul Gandhi and other senior political leaders who had expressed support for the protesters.
According to the organisation, the demonstrators included students, engineers, aspiring teachers and unemployed graduates, many of them women, who were seeking accountability from the government over issues affecting their future.
Recalling its position on constitutional rights, the AICU said India’s founding promise rests on the dignity of every citizen and the accountability of the State. It referred to Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution, which protect fundamental rights including peaceful assembly, life and personal liberty.
“When the State meets legitimate grievance with lathi and tear gas, it is the Constitution itself that is bruised,” the statement said.
The AICU also raised concerns over alleged paper leaks in NEET and other recruitment and entrance examinations, saying such incidents have left large numbers of students facing cancelled examinations, delayed results and uncertainty about their careers.
It further criticised the implementation of the NEP 2020, alleging that government schools have suffered neglect despite promises of educational transformation. The organisation also questioned the reported transfer of vacated school buildings to ideological organisations.
The AICU said young people had taken to the streets because they had “run out of patience with a system that keeps moving the goalposts of its future.”
The organisation urged the Union Government to immediately stop using force against peaceful protesters and order an independent judicial inquiry into the police action. It called for accountability for officers found responsible for excessive use of force, particularly against women protesters, and demanded the unconditional release of detained students, as well as medical care and compensation for those injured.
Reiterating its principal demand, the AICU urged the government to table a White Paper during the Monsoon Session of Parliament. The document, it said, should detail the alleged shortcomings in the implementation of the NEP in government schools, address repeated disruptions in NEET and other examinations, examine the impact of the police action on protesters, and present a credible, time-bound roadmap for education reform and youth employment.
By Catholic Connect Reporter
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