BREAKING: India’s “Cockroach” rebellion has forced the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. This follows weeks of youth-led demonstrations across the country calling for accountability in its centralized exam system. According to the “Cockroach” Janta Party and left-leaning student unions, over a dozen students have committed suicide in the last few months, following the cancellation of various centralized exams over alleged corruption and irregularities. According to media reports, dozens of such exams related to medical, engineering entrance, lecturerships, and various government jobs have been cancelled either at the last moment before the due date or immediately after they were conducted citing technical or legal reasons. In India, such exams are attempted by millions of students or aspirants, competing for just a few hundred seats, with those from middle or lower-middle class families seeing these exams as opportunities for social mobility. Given the systemic neglect of public education in the country, families spend a large part of their income on educating their children or arranging special coaching to prepare them for these exams. Due to the economic cost each exam cycle involves and the stress it creates for most of the students and their families, the cancellation of exams or questions of irregularities often cause massive economic and emotional setbacks.

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