Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday described India's education system as a "rejection system" rather than a selection system, alleging that it places excessive financial burden and stress on students and middle-class families.Kota: Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi speaks during the 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' rally, as part of the Congress party'ss campaign on paper leaks and youth issues. (PTI)Addressing a gathering in the coaching hub of Kota, Gandhi said that the current education structure is "extremely stressful and unfair"."India's education system is an extortion machine. We want a system that allows you to dream big," he said, adding that young people in the country are being subjected to too much pain, stress and unhappiness.The leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said that India's education system puts pressure on children, stresses them and crushes them."This is not good for the country. I want all of us to work together to ensure that no student in this country ever feels what this girl felt," he said at "Chhatron ki Goonj" Maha Rally in Kota where he interacted with students on various issues like paper leaks and unemployment."This is not a political meeting. This is a meeting about you, about the young people who are struggling to get a future. This evening is about you, the challenges that you are dealing with every single day," he said in his opening remarks.He claimed that the system pushes students mainly towards a few career paths such as engineering, medical and civil services, while discouraging alternative aspirations."Why is India only asking children to do five things? The answer is money, because the system makes money through these five routes," he alleged.Gandhi explained five paths of SSC, UPSC, RRB, JEE and NEET through a presentation.He said lakhs of students are compelled to spend large sums on schooling, coaching institutes, uniforms and hostel facilities, with no guarantee of success in competitive examinations.He cited examinations such as NEET, JEE, UPSC Civil Services Examination, SSC Exam and RRB, saying that lakhs of candidates compete for a very limited number of successful outcomes."For NEET alone, around 22 lakh students appear, but less than one lakh get selected. These are extremely difficult odds," he said.Gandhi said that such patterns make the system brutal and exclusionary.He further alleged that the education economy extracts large amounts of money from families each year."Students and their families collectively spend amounts comparable to the government's entire education budget just for one examination," he claimed.He said that 22 lakh students appear in NEET and they collectively spend ₹1.32 lakh crore, which is equal to the budget allocation of the education ministry."Five biggest exams are considered your dreams -- SSC, UPSC, RRB, JEE and NEET. Around ₹3.5 lakh crore is collectively spent by families on these five examinations. This amount is comparable to the government's spending on ministries such as education, health, labour, science, and women and child development," he claimed."After this, students are told that the doors are closed and that they could not get into IIT or NEET. This is the reality of India's education system," he said.Gandhi said that despite such investment, only a small proportion of students secure stable employment, while many others face uncertainty."Out of every thousand students, only a few get salaried jobs. The rest are left struggling," he said."There is nothing in India that prevents a child from dreaming, except the system itself," he said.The Congress leader called for structural reforms to expand opportunities and reduce dependence on high-pressure examinations.Gandhi claimed that out of every 100 engineers, around 80 are unemployed."We have to change this system. The education system we want should allow every single Indian to dream big."The second role of the education system is to help you achieve that dream. Whatever your dream is, the job of India's education system should be to help you fulfil it," he said.Gandhi said that the dream of youths should be achieved at the lowest possible cost, without extracting lakhs and crores of rupees from their pockets.During the programme, Gandhi interacted with five students -- three girls and two boys -- who were called onto the stage for interaction. They were NEET, JEE and civil services aspirants.Gandhi talked to them about their dreams, preparations and money spent on them, and chances of their selection.He also talked to a UPSC aspirant and her parents on stage.A large number of students preparing for NEET, JEE and competitive exams gathered at the programme.Kota is a prominent coaching hub in the country where nearly 1.2 lakh students are preparing for NEET and JEE in various coaching institutes.Gandhi, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, will lead a national education campaign to amplify the pain of India's students, demand accountability with the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and begin a conversation on building a better future for young Indians, according to a party release.The campaign will travel across the country, led by Congress units including NSUI and the Youth Congress. Gandhi will address conventions in Allahabad, Patna and Delhi, the release said.Ahead of the programme, politics heated up as the Congress leaders accused the BJP of discouraging students from participating in the programme while the BJP questioned the timing of the event, held ahead of the NEET re-examination scheduled on June 21.Om Birla is from Kota and he represents the Kota-Bundi parliamentary constituency.