Rahul Gandhi Targets Centre Over CBSE Digital Evaluation Crisis, Demands SIT Investigation

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday intensified the opposition’s attack on the Centre over the controversial CBSE On-Screen Marking (OSM) system , demanding an independent judicial inquiry and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into alleged irregularities in the Class 12 evaluation process.

The controversy erupted after several students alleged major discrepancies in their board exam results, claiming that scanned answer sheets uploaded on the CBSE portal either did not match their handwriting, contained blurred pages, or appeared incomplete. The allegations sparked fears of answer-sheet mismatches and technical failures in the newly introduced digital evaluation system.

At the centre of the row is COEMPT EduTeck , the Hyderabad-based company handling CBSE’s digital evaluation infrastructure. Gandhi alleged that the company previously operated under the name Globarena Technologies and had been linked to earlier examination controversies in Telangana in 2019 and 2023.

In a video statement shared on social media, Gandhi claimed the same OSM-related failures in Telangana had contributed to the deaths by suicide of 23 students during the 2019 Telangana Intermediate examination crisis. He questioned why CBSE awarded such a sensitive contract to a company with what he described as a “murky past”.

“This is not a mistake — it is a calculated conspiracy ,” Gandhi said, alleging that the future of nearly 1.85 million students had been jeopardised. He also questioned whether procurement rules were bypassed and demanded clarity on the relationship between COEMPT’s management and the Modi government.

The OSM system was introduced by CBSE this year as part of a wider push toward digitised evaluation. Under the system, physical answer sheets are scanned and uploaded online for digital assessment by evaluators. CBSE had projected the model as a faster and more transparent alternative to traditional paper checking.

However, the transition has drawn criticism from students, parents, and teachers, with complaints ranging from poor scan quality and incomplete pages to portal glitches and evaluation inconsistencies. Reports also emerged of cybersecurity concerns after a young ethical hacker allegedly identified vulnerabilities in the OSM portal.

The issue has revived memories of the 2019 Telangana Intermediate Board crisis , when thousands of students reported errors in marks and evaluation, triggering statewide protests.

Rejecting Gandhi’s allegations, CBSE termed the charges “erroneous” and “misleading”, asserting that the contract was awarded through a transparent tender process following all procurement norms. Meanwhile, the Congress has demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan , accusing the Centre of avoiding accountability while students and parents remain distressed over the evaluation controversy.