Lok Sabha Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that required quality norms were either dropped or lowered by the CBSE to help a Hyderabad-based company win the bid for on-screen marking (OSM).
“CBSE called for OSM tenders thrice. Zero bids the first time. No qualified bidder the second time. And finally, the technical bar was lowered until COEMPT could clear it. Scanning resolution cut. Robotic scanner requirement dropped. CMMI certification lowered from Level 5 to Level 3. Penalties for errors in answer sheets removed,” Rahul posted on X.
The Congress leader had on Wednesday alleged that the CBSE had awarded the OSM contract to COEMPT, which had bungled the processing of Class XII results of the Telangana board in 2019, without any background check.
Several CBSE students who appeared for the Class XII board exams this year have complained of badly scanned answer sheets, missing pages and a glitch-ridden evaluation portal.
“Teachers had warned CBSE that the OSM system needed at least a year or two for further preparation before nationwide implementation, yet it was rushed through. So I ask again — who wanted COEMPT to win? Who lowered the bar, step by step, until this company could clear it?” Rahul wrote in his post.
Rahul wanted to know whether the contract was honestly awarded to the best company, which could do the job properly.
Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the CBSE have said due process was followed in awarding the contract.
Commerce minister Piyush Goyal had on Thursday hit back at Rahul, saying the firm whose credentials were being questioned had bagged projects from different universities in Congress-ruled Karnataka and Telangana.
He posted on X that Bengaluru City University and Adikavi Sri Maharshi Valmiki University in Karnataka’s Raichur had signed agreements with COEMPT, while Karnataka University, Dharwad, has issued a work order to the company.
Goyal said Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences in Telangana had signed a pact with COEMPT and the Telangana State Health University had publicly lauded the company on its official website.
“So let Rahul Gandhi answer the nation, plainly: If this company is ‘tainted,’ will he accuse the Congress chief ministers of Telangana and Karnataka of collusion? Will he demand their resignations? Did Congress governments sign these agreements blindfolded or is his outrage, as always, selective, scripted, and meant only for headlines against the Modi government?” he posted.
On Friday, Rahul had a message for “the BJP ministers attacking me for asking questions”.
“The futures of 18.5 lakh children were handed to a company that could only qualify after the rules were bent for it. To the BJP ministers attacking me for asking questions — I have, from day one, demanded an independent judicial probe. Expand it from CBSE to every contract awarded to COEMPT,” he posted.