The government has taken significant action in the CBSE OSM case. The government has transferred the CBSE Chairman and Secretary. The Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) On-Screen Marking (OSM) experiment is proving to be a nightmare for 12th-grade students. The CBSE appears to be failing to handle everything from answer sheets to re-evaluation. The Ministry of Education has initiated an internal investigation into alleged irregularities in the controversial CBSE tender process and serious deficiencies in the board’s digital evaluation system. The government has also ordered the formation of a new committee to investigate the entire matter.
Sources indicate that the government is not fully satisfied with the explanations provided by the CBSE on the digital evaluation tender issue, and has requested a detailed report on the procurement process related to the board’s On-Screen Marking (OSM) system. Additionally, a detailed investigation has been ordered into the security flaws reported in the re-evaluation portal. A senior ministry official stated clearly that action will be taken and responsibility will be fixed.
A senior official stated that the ministry is taking strict action against those responsible. Responsibility will be fixed. Sources indicated that the ministry believes this controversy is not limited to isolated technical glitches, but may also point to deeper procedural and oversight lapses within the system.
The matter originated with the tender issued for the OSM system. Allegations surfaced that eligibility criteria and technical conditions were changed at several stages of the bidding process, ultimately resulting in a Hyderabad-based company being awarded the contract. Meanwhile, after the exam, complaints began pouring in from students. Some reported blurred answer sheets, missing pages, mismatched scanned copies, and repeated technical glitches during re-evaluation.
As the matter escalated, opposition leaders and analysts raised questions about whether the terms were relaxed in favor of a particular company. However, the CBSE denied the allegations and stated that the contract was awarded in accordance with general financial rules and established procurement standards. However, the controversy did not end there. Many pointed out vulnerabilities in the CBSE’s digital evaluation system. Ministry officials believed that the vulnerability was exacerbated by the lack of a robust and comprehensive digital repository structure for answer sheets and examination records, posing serious challenges in both storage and cybersecurity.
The Ministry has now engaged IIT experts to address technical glitches, audit the re-evaluation portal’s architecture, and strengthen cybersecurity measures. The CBSE has been directed to further strengthen its system.
The CBSE claimed that the re-evaluation portal would be operational from June 1. The 400,000 students who have received scanned copies of their answer sheets will now be able to apply for verification. Re-evaluation will be possible based on the questions. However, students are worried about the portal, and technical problems persist. Students have received their answer sheets, and now they have to decide which questions they want to evaluate.
CBSE had claimed to have made extensive preparations for the portal. It was said that before launching the portal, there would be a security audit and a performance audit. Two IITs, Kanpur and Madras, are helping. The directors of both IITs are present in CBSE. Everyone is working together. But the students’ problems still persist.