CBSE OSM row: Education ministry begins crackdown over alleged irregularities; weighs action against officials

NEW DELHI: Action is set to follow against officials in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) as the ministry of education has initiated an internal crackdown over alleged irregularities in a controversial tender process and serious vulnerabilities in the board’s digital evaluation ecosystem.According to ministry sources, a detailed report from CBSE on the tender process linked to the board’s On Screen Marking (OSM) system has been sought. Sources said that the explanations provided so far have failed to fully satisfy the ministry, with accountability now likely to be fixed at multiple levels inside the board.“The ministry is taking strong action against those accountable. Responsibility will be determined,” a senior official said. Sources added that “heads are likely to roll” if procedural lapses or negligence are established.The controversy surrounding the OSM tender escalated after allegations surfaced that eligibility conditions and technical criteria were modified across multiple rounds of bidding before Hyderabad-based Coempt Edu Tek finally emerged as the successful bidder. Critics and opposition leaders questioned whether procurement norms were diluted to favour a particular company, especially after complaints began surfacing over blurred answer sheets, missing pages and technical glitches during the reevaluation process.CBSE has rejected allegations of wrongdoing and maintained that the tender process followed General Financial Rules and established procurement procedures. However, the controversy deepened after ethical hackers and independent developers flagged vulnerabilities in systems linked to the board’s digital evaluation infrastructure.Ministry officials said the weaknesses became more serious because CBSE does not yet maintain a comprehensive digital repository architecture for answer sheets and related examination records. The absence of robust archival and cybersecurity systems is now being examined separately as part of a wider review of the board’s digital preparedness.The ministry has meanwhile engaged experts from IITs to plug technological gaps, strengthen cybersecurity safeguards and conduct audits of the reevaluation portal architecture. CBSE has been directed to fortify the system and ensure that all reevaluation requests are processed through a secure and transparent mechanism.Officials stressed that students’ interests would remain protected and that the reevaluation process would continue under enhanced monitoring and supervision.