Prof. W. Christopher Rajasekaran
Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu
In recent weeks, Indian society has been engaged in substantial controversies regarding the deficiencies in the newly implemented CBSE On-Screen Marking (OSM) System, alongside the leakage of NEET and CUET question papers. These issues have sparked widespread protests on online platforms, challenging the credibility of India’s educational, administrative, and political systems. Nisarga Adhikari, Sarthak Siddhant, and Vedant Srivastava, “three-teen army” of Generation Z, provided substantial evidence of their digital investigations through viral blogs generated a “Gen Z Digital Space” in national education affairs.
What is the significance of digital literacy among Generation Z in this context? Generation Z, defined as individuals born between 1997 and 2012, is widely recognized as “digital natives” and “AI Experts”. This cohort has emerged as influential proponents of digital activism on social media platforms, where they challenge systemic issues and demand accountability from the government. According to various reports, the OSM system issue notably triggered a significant cyber-attack on the CBSE, and over 56,000 Class XII students applied for the re-evaluation of their answer scrips, leading to a substantial administrative reorganisation by the Ministry of Education. Consequently, the Cabinet Secretariat established a high-level enquiry committee chaired by S. Radha Chauhan.
The controversy surrounding the OMS, coupled with reports questioning the credibility of NEET and CUET, has significantly undermined public trust in the National Testing Agencies. This erosion of confidence in national evaluation systems has resulted in widespread public unrest and dissatisfaction, particularly on social media platforms. Social media initiatives have transformed individual protests into collective resistance, illustrating how Gen Z’s digital activism represents a paradigm shift in the new generation’s engagement with institutional failures. This phenomenon has been termed “Scholasticide”, referring to the systemic destruction of academic ethics, quality, and integrity. India’s education system is currently at a critical juncture, and education experts warn that the collapse of credibility across the CBSE, NEET, and CUET frameworks could potentially affect students’ futures and national educational standards.
Across platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, student-led campaigns are transforming personal experiences into widespread national digital petitions and protests through viral posts, hashtag activism, podcasts, and memes. This approach increases the global visibility of isolated incidents. The digital resistance of Gen Z, articulated through their civic engagement within India’s educational sector, illustrates how digital literacy can be used to address entrenched institutional failures and initiates systemic reforms globally.
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