CBSE denies irregularities in OSM contract, Education Minister Pradhan assures action on discrepancies

CBSE has rejected allegations surrounding the awarding of its digital evaluation contract to Coempt Edutech and said the tender process for the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system was conducted according to prescribed rules and procedures.

In a statement issued amid the growing controversy over the Class 12 evaluation process, the board said the claims being circulated regarding the company and the contract were “erroneous, misleading, and not based on facts."

“CBSE rejects the allegations regarding the award of contract to COEMPT Edutech. It is erroneous, misleading, and not based on facts,” the board said in a post on X.

The board said that the Request for Proposal for digital evaluation of answer books for the 2026 board examinations was floated on the Central Public Procurement portal on Aug 28, 2025, and that the contract was awarded after following General Financial Rules protocols and due tender procedures.

The clarification came after Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi accused the board of large-scale irregularities in the Class 12 result process and demanded an independent judicial inquiry and Special Investigation Team investigation into the OSM mechanism and the company linked to it.

In a post on X and a video statement, Gandhi alleged that there had been “massive tampering” in CBSE Class 12 results and questioned the process through which Coempt Edutech received the contract associated with the digital evaluation system.

“And Mr. Modi? As always, no answers, no accountability, no shame,” Gandhi wrote while criticizing the Centre over the controversy.

The Congress leader said students and parents across the country were anxious over complaints linked to answer sheet verification and re-evaluation.

He also raised questions over whether procurement rules and background checks had been followed before the contract was awarded.

According to Gandhi, Coempt Edutech had earlier operated under the name Globarena and had been linked to controversies in Telangana in 2019.

He questioned why the company was selected despite its alleged past record and asked whether there were any links between the company’s management and the government.

Among the questions raised by Gandhi were who approved the contract, whether due diligence was conducted, and whether established procedures were bypassed during the selection process.

Addressing students directly, Gandhi referred to Gen Z students as “comrades” and assured them that their efforts would not go to waste.

"CBSE's Gen Z comrades, your hard work, your future, no one will be able to steal it," he wrote on X.

The controversy centers on CBSE’s newly introduced On-Screen Marking system, which was implemented this year for Class 12 board examinations as part of efforts to digitize answer sheet evaluation and improve transparency.

The issue gained attention after multiple students alleged discrepancies during the post-result verification and re-evaluation process.

Complaints included blurred scans, missing pages, handwriting mismatches, incomplete answer displays, and technical glitches on the portal used for accessing evaluated answer sheets.

One student had alleged that the answer sheet shown during the verification process did not belong to them because the handwriting differed from the point where answers began.

The complaint triggered broader concerns regarding digital scanning, answer sheet mapping, and the overall reliability of the OSM system.

As scrutiny increased, CBSE disclosed that over 13,000 answer sheets out of nearly 9.8 million evaluated copies had undergone manual review after discrepancies were flagged.

The board later said that more than 4 lakh applications had been received from Class 12 students seeking scanned copies of their answer sheets, indicating that nearly one in four candidates wanted to review their evaluated responses.

Reports also emerged alleging that CBSE regional officials had reached out to principals of affiliated schools asking them to circulate supportive messages and videos defending the OSM system.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan defended the rollout of the OSM system while acknowledging that discrepancies had surfaced during its first large-scale implementation.

“Today, certain issues have come to light regarding the CBSE Class 12 examination evaluation process, and a re-evaluation process will now begin. Around 17 lakh students appeared for the examination, and the answer sheets of each student have been securely preserved,” Pradhan said.

“In total, there are 98 lakh answer-sheet copies, with each copy consisting of around 40 pages, which means nearly 40 crore scanned pages were evaluated for the first time by CBSE through the OSM process. OSM is a progressive instrument. Many universities and institutions in India, as well as several institutions across the world, are moving towards this system,” he added.

Calling the digital system “student-centric,” the minister said scanned answer sheets improve transparency because students can directly review evaluated copies online.

“This is the first time CBSE has implemented this system in the country. Certain discrepancies have come to our notice, and I take responsibility for them. These issues will be rectified, and appropriate solutions will be worked out. All of us are engaged in this task. We will not leave a single student's unanswered query or concern unresolved,” he said.