Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday said he took responsibility for the “discrepancies and chaos” surrounding the newly introduced digital evaluation system for the CBSE Class XII board exams.
He, however, parried questions on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegation that the contract for the on-screen marking (OSM) system had been awarded to a Hyderabad-based firm that had “mishandled” the results of the Telangana board exams in 2019.
Many CBSE Class XII students have alleged discrepancies in scoring. They have also complained that scanned copies of their answer sheets uploaded by the board did not match their handwriting, raising concerns that the answer sheets may have got swapped in the OSM system.
“On behalf of the government, I take responsibility for the discrepancies and chaos. I appeal to him (Rahul) that this is not the time for politics. Students are under mental stress, and it should not worsen because of our words and behaviour. This is my appeal to all,” Pradhan said on Thursday.
Chairing a high-level review meeting at the CBSE headquarters here, Pradhan said that lapses and negligence, whether within or outside the system, would not be tolerated and that strict action would be taken.
Rahul had said on Wednesday that the OSM contract had been awarded to the Hyderabad-based COEMPT without a proper background check.
"The company entrusted with this responsibility — COEMPT — had previously committed these very same misdeeds in Telangana in 2019, operating under the name ‘Globarena’. The name changed — but the intent remained the same; the nature remained unchanged. Its history was a matter of public record, yet the contract was awarded regardless," Rahul had posted on X.
“The future of 1.85 million students was handed over to such a company, and yet, no one seemed to care. This is not a mistake — it is a calculated conspiracy,” Rahul said inthe X post.
Pradhan underlined that the CBSE had rejected the allegation about the OSM contract being awarded to COEMPT in violation of procedure and without due diligence.
The national school board had said on Wednesday that the claim was erroneous and misleading, and that the contract had been awarded in full accordance to procedure under the General Financial Rules.
“The CBSE clarified this issue yesterday. The procurement policy of the Government of India has been followed. I can assure you that if there were any violations, nobody will be spared,” Pradhan told reporters.
“But Rahul Gandhiji has a different mindset. He has become frustrated because of repeated losses in elections. He opposed the SIR, EVMs, Digital India. He is against the scientific developments made by India.”
Rahul soon hit back, posting on X: “Dharmendra Pradhan ji, you can attack me all you want but it won’t absolve you of your crimes. Nor will it stop me from demanding answers for 18.5 lakh children.
“Why was the CBSE OSM contract handed to COEMPT — a company already mired in controversy under its old name, Globarena? On whose orders was it done? Why were no background checks done? What is the connection between COEMPT’s management and the Modi government?
“Either you ran a background check and went ahead anyway — or you didn’t run one at all. Either way, you are complicit. As for responsibility — if the PM cared, he should have sacked you long ago for ruining the futures of lakhs of students.”
The CBSE meeting chaired by Pradhan on Thursday was also attended by IIT Madras director V. Kamakoti and IIT Kanpur director Manindra Agrawal, who are helping the board sort out glitches with its website so that copies of answer sheets can be given to students on time.
Representatives of public sector banks such as the SBI, Indian Bank, Bank of Baroda and the Canara Bank were present, too, since many students have alleged issues with the payment of fees for obtaining copies of the answer sheets.
An education ministry media release said Pradhan had directed officials to ensure that the problems faced by the students were resolved in a timely, transparent and student-friendly manner.
