By Tripura24.in Bureau
AGARTALA | June 22, 2026: In a highly aggressive media briefing, the top brass of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) launched a scathing attack on both the central and state governments over structural failures in the education sector, institutional corruption, and the erosion of campus democracy. The joint press conference, held in Agartala, featured SFI All-India General Secretary Srijan Bhattacharya, West Bengal State Secretary Debanjan Dey, Tripura State Secretary Srijan Deb, and Tripura State President Pritam Shil.
The student outfit announced a massive, multi-layered agitation across Tripura over a 3-point charter of demands to salvage the public education framework from “systemic destruction.”
Srijan Bhattacharya Demands Resignation of Union Education Minister Over NEET Scam
Delivering a sharp indictment of the contemporary educational infrastructure, SFI All-India General Secretary Srijan Bhattacharya raised the pitch over the nationwide National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) paper leak scandal. He asserted that Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has repeatedly failed to secure institutional integrity and must immediately step down on moral grounds.
”Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has overseen one blunder after another, destroying the futures of millions of medical aspirants. He must resign ethically. Across India, the demand for his resignation is growing, a sentiment echoed even by the CJI’s recent observations. Yet, whenever anyone questions this government’s absolute incompetence, they are instantly branded ‘anti-national’—as if the BJP holds a monopoly on patriotism,” Srijan Bhattacharya stated.
Turning his focus to the regional crisis, Bhattacharya drew a stark contrast between past and present governance models in Tripura:
- Destruction of School Infrastructure: While school education expanded significantly under the former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar’s regime, it has now been completely devastated. Currently, 360 government schools in Tripura are operating with just a single teacher.
- The Vidyajyoti Failure: The elite ‘Vidyajyoti’ scheme has created an artificial segregation, systematically denying affordable, quality education to the marginalized sections of society.
- Political Violence and Decline of TMC: Under the garb of ABVP, youth front goons are running amok, assaulting SFI activists and stripping away students’ rights to free speech and education. Regarding the broader political landscape, he took a swipe at the Trinamool Congress, noting that while the election ink hasn’t even faded from voters’ fingers, the TMC as a party has completely vanished from Tripura.
Two-Month Agitation Roadmap Unveiled for Subdivisions and Districts
Outlining the immediate organizational blueprint, SFI Tripura State Secretary Srijan Deb announced that the student union will launch a sustained, two-month-long campaign traversing every subdivision and district headquarters.
The SFI roadmap will actively focus on countering the recent Private University Bill introduced in the Tripura Legislative Assembly by mobilizing mass public opinion and organizing parents against hyper-commercialization.
”Our immediate movement is targeted at forcing the state to recruit an adequate number of permanent school teachers and completely halt the privatization of higher education. Furthermore, with the Village Committee (VC) elections fast approaching, we will aggressively campaign across the TTAADC areas. Restoring the crippled educational environment in the hills is a priority, and we urge the electorate to ensure the victory of Left Front candidates to bring stability back to regional campuses,” Tripura State Secretary Srijan Deb announced.
West Bengal Leadership Flags Cross-Border Commercialization Mirror
Extending regional solidarity, SFI West Bengal State Secretary Debanjan Dey observed that the aggressive shift toward corporatized education models was first experimented with in Tripura and is now being replicated by policymakers in West Bengal.
He reiterated that ensuring top-tier educational access to meritorious but economically backward students is a fundamental constitutional obligation of any welfare government—an obligation the ruling dispensation has completely abandoned in favor of private university syndicates. Dey vowed that SFI would continue its uncompromising battle to liberate college campuses from the authoritarian hegemony of the ABVP.
