Laathi charge on teachers, panicked students: What's happening in India over SSC exams? WION Explains
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Students protesting in Delhi against SSC Photograph: (x)
Indian capital Delhi is witnessing a massive student protest over the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) Selection Post Phase 13 examination. Students and teachers claimed various errors in the examination process. The police not only nabbed them but also unleashed a lathi charge.
A massive protest erupted in Delhi this week by the students of the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) Selection Post Phase 13 examination. The SSC exams are among the toughest government examinations in the country, and around 2 million students, if not more, appear in these examinations. This year, the examination led students and the teacher, including the renowned ones, onto the streets where they were seen protesting against the exam conducting body. They also demanded accountability for the issue they were facing.
What went wrong?
This year, the SSC conducted the exams from July 24 to August 1, 2025. The problem started when a few students at various regions in India raised complaints of sudden changes in exam schedules, exam centres and also non-functioning resources at the centres.
The students raised these major issues:
1. Sudden exam cancellation: Multiple students complained that when they reached the examination centres, all prepared for the exam, they received the notice that the exams were cancelled, for an indefinite period.
2. Changes in exam centres: Students also complained that their exam centres were changed, and in some cases, they were not even informed about it. Various students on social media claimed that some students of Delhi got their centre in Andaman Nicobar, while some got in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). One of the students also said that a visually impaired student from J&K was allotted Delhi as their exam centre even after insisting on J&K only.
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3. Error in question papers: Multiple students raised the issue that there were errors in the question papers. Students said that parts of the questions were missing, and the complaint was left unheard when they raised it in the exam halls.
4. Same question papers in consecutive years: Many teachers, while talking to the media, said that several questions from past years were repeated in this year's exam. When the issue was raised, the exam body justified it, saying that it's to "surprise" students who thought a particular question would not be repeated the next year, and they will come unprepared, as a teacher claimed.
5. Malfunctioning resources at exam centres: Many students claimed that the computers at the exam centres were not working, whereas at some places, the mice were not working.
The massive protest - and laathi charge on teachers
The angry students and the teachers of India's leading institutes for competitive exams came on the roads, reached places like Jantar Mantar and CGO Complex to protest against the exam body. The teachers claimed that instead of listening to their queries and problems, the police launched a laathi charge on the students as well as on the teachers. They also took teachers into custody and forced them to sit in police stations for hours.
One of the protesting students, Ronak Khatri, who is also the president of Delhi University Students Union, told The Indian Express, "I was there at the protest to raise issues of the students. The exam centres were away, several students missed their exams, and there were several technical glitches which did not allow students to perform to their best.”
Various clips circulated on social media supported the allegations of students and teachers who claimed that they were mishandled and physically assaulted by police while curbing the protest. The well-known Indian teacher, Neetu Singh, who is known for teaching English for Indian competitive exams, was also among the protesters who were taken into custody for raising their voice against the SSC.
“When teachers raise their voices for the rights of students, they are picked up from the streets and taken to police stations. No politics, no protest — just one question: when will justice be served? Is asking questions now a crime? Is this the picture of our system?” Singh posted on the social media platform X.
Now what?
The protesting students and teachers are now demanding an independent investigation into how the exam body, SSC, is handling the examinations held in recent years. They also demanded a transparent process for the recruitment examination. They call for the accountability of officials who were responsible for such disruptions.
