‘There was negligence’: Dharmendra Pradhan speaks in Rajya Sabha over death of 3 UPSC aspirants in Delhi

‘There was negligence’, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday in Rajya Sabha while replying to a question regarding the death of three UPSC aspirants in the national capital, Delhi.

“Only when accountability is fixed, there will be a solution...It is our responsibility to ensure that such an incident is not repeated....," the education minister added.

Earlier in Lok Sabha, leaders across party lines condemned the flooding of a coaching centre in the national capital, leading to the death of three civil services aspirants on Saturday.

Congress MP KC Venugopal raised the incident during Question Hour, stating, “Without an approved building, without any facility, some of the coaching centers become mafia… is the government going to take any action?”

Quoting information provided by the ministry in an earlier written reply, the Congress MP said that between 2018-2022, around 80 students committed suicide in top-ranking institutions like IITs and IIMs, adding that caste discrimination is a major reason behind it.

In his response, Pradhan said, "The member has raised a question which is not related to the question put today."

"But I like to assure the House through you, this government is committed to total socio-psychological and mental protection of all students, whether they are studying in a coaching center, in an institution, school education or higher education," he said.

The education minister informed the House that exhaustive and detailed guidelines on coaching centres were issued to all states in January 2024.

"Some states also have regulations, like Rajasthan, Bihar, Goa. They have their own regulations to look into the matter," the minister added.

Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav requested Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to direct the government to provide compensation of ₹1 crore each to the families of the deceased students and also fix responsibility for this incident and take strict action immediately.

Three civil services aspirants died on Saturday after the basement of a building housing a coaching centre in central Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar area was flooded following heavy rains.