“This is a country where in a range of exams marks are calculated to the seventh decimal place to decide who will get selected. Every single place where we have an exam, from IIT to CLAT, is pressure ridden because of the law of numbers. So the idea that this exam will be a relief is strange.”

-Pratap Bhanu Mehta, public intellectual, on Delhi University’s decision to conduct admissions using either a Central Universities Entrance Exam or its own entrance exam (Indian Express, January 8)

“It’s been a strength of India that everyone is free to wear what they want. If the hijab is disallowed, what about the Sikh turban? The Hindu’s forehead mark? The Christian’s crucifix? This college is going down a slippery slope. Let the girls in. Let them study. Let them decide.”

-Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP, on the controversy of six hijab (headscarves)-wearing girl students being prevented from attending classes in a government pre-university college in Karnataka (Twitter, February 4)

Also read: Hijab-saffron shawl row continues in Karnataka colleges

“The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 was launched last year with huge fanfare. It advocated that 6 percent of GDP should be allocated to the education sector. But, this year’s budget comes down to less than 2 per cent. The education budget may have crossed a landmark of 1 lakh crore but it has been decreasing as a percentage of total expenditure.”

-Anil Swaroop, former Union school education secretary, on the Budget 2022-23 allocation for education sector (The Indian Express, February 6)

“NEET is discriminatory and against social justice… It attempts to marginalise students from low-income families in the guise of merit. As a result, we oppose the examination and demand an exemption. The NEET Exemption Bill not only defends the right to education and social rights but also upholds Tamil Nadu’s rights.”

-M.K. Stalin, chief minister of Tamil Nadu, presenting the NEET Exemption Bill in the legislative assembly (The Hindu, February 9)