Political Controversy Erupts Over CBSE's Online Evaluation System
Emerging Scandal Surrounding CBSE's Evaluation Process
The online assessment system for the 12th grade by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has sparked a significant controversy, evolving into a major political and technical scandal. Rahul Gandhi, a Congress MP and leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, has intensified his criticism of both the government and CBSE regarding this issue. He has alleged serious corruption in the board's tender process, claiming that answer sheets, which determine students' futures, were scanned using ordinary mobile phones instead of professional robotic scanners, jeopardizing the futures of millions of students.
Details of the Controversy
After engaging with students who have been affected, Gandhi has amplified concerns raised by student researcher Sarthak Siddharth. Sarthak's document-based investigation revealed how the board awarded the contract for the online marking portal.
In a post on social media, Gandhi accused the private vendor responsible for digitizing the answer sheets, COEMPT Edu Teck, of using mobile phones to scan the actual answer sheets after the main technical requirements were relaxed during the tender process.
He stated, "The May 2025 tender for CBSE specified that answer sheets would be scanned using automatic robotic scanners, ensuring their binding remained intact and a minimum resolution of 300 DPI. However, these conditions were quietly removed in the tender reissued in August."
Allegations of Favoritism
Gandhi further alleged that the board altered the tender requirements to benefit a specific firm, implicating the board in this alleged misconduct. He asserted that every student affected by grading errors is a victim of this fraud.
He remarked, "The term 'scanner' was generalized. The resolution was reduced to 200 DPI. We have now learned what this truly meant. It has come to light that COEMPT scanned the answer sheets using mobile phones. Blurry copies, missing pages, and unscanned books are not mere 'mistakes'; they are the predetermined outcomes of a contract designed to benefit a particular vendor. This is fraud."
Government's Silence and Demands for Resignation
Targeting the government, he criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for remaining silent on the issue, which affects approximately 1.85 million students. He reiterated his demand for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Revelations from Ethical Hacker
These latest allegations emerged from a social media post by 19-year-old ethical hacker Nisarg Adhikari, who highlighted several flaws in the OSM portal. Nisarg shared screenshots of scanned answer sheets, claiming that security measures could be bypassed, allowing "anyone on the internet" to access and download the scanned answer sheets.
Upon examining the images shared online, Sarthak pointed out another discrepancy, noting clear 'drop shadows' and creasing marks on several scanned answer sheets.
Concerns Over Scanning Quality
For those unfamiliar, drop shadows typically appear in images or scans taken with handheld mobile devices, not from flatbed or automated scanners.
"Since these copies are now public, could you please clarify which copies exhibit drop shadows when scanned with a scanner? And what about these three creasing marks? Did you really use a scanner?" Sarthak questioned on social media.
The board's implementation of the OSM (Online Assessment System) was initially presented as a significant technological advancement aimed at making evaluations faster, more transparent, and free from human error. However, it has instead led to chaos.
Growing Trust Crisis
What began as sporadic complaints about unexpectedly low scores has escalated into one of the largest trust crises faced by CBSE in recent years. Just days after the results were announced, a flood of screenshots of answer sheets appeared on social media, showcasing blurry scans, missing pages, unchecked responses, and scores that students claimed did not align with their previous academic records.
The significant drop in pass rates for the 12th-grade results, from 88.39% last year to 85.2%, has further fueled this anger, with students from various states alleging that their scores in subjects like Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics were inexplicably lower.
Disturbing Stories Emerge
A student from Delhi discovered that the Physics answer sheet uploaded with his roll number actually belonged to someone else. CBSE later acknowledged this error and provided the student with his correct answer sheet. However, by then, the situation had spiraled out of control, with many students reporting that the answer sheets they received did not match their handwriting, response style, or presentation.
Amid this turmoil, the consistently poor performance of the 're-evaluation portal' exacerbated the situation. Due to heavy traffic and demand, the portal frequently crashed, prompting the board to extend the deadline for submitting applications and issue clarifications regarding the matter.
Further Revelations on Tender Process
Meanwhile, another shocking revelation surfaced: CBSE had relaxed some crucial eligibility criteria when awarding the contract for digitizing answer sheets. Sarthak claimed that his investigation revealed a weakening of certain technical and security requirements between the initial tender issued by the board in May and its revised version released in August.