Heads may roll in CBSE as MoE cracks down on OSM tender row

NEW DELHI: Heads are likely to roll in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) as the education ministry has initiated an internal crackdown over alleged irregularities in a controversial tender process for the board's digital evaluation ecosystem which was found to have vulnerabilities.

Explanations provided by the CBSE, so far, on the tender issue have not been found to be satisfactory, and accountability is now likely to be fixed at multiple levels inside the education board, according to ministry sources.

"Detailed reports have been sought on awarding the contract to Hyderabad-based Coempt Edu Tech as part of the procurement process linked to the board's 'On Screen Marking (OSM)' system as well as on the security gaps flagged in the re-evaluation portal. The ministry is taking action against those accountable. Responsibility will be determined," a senior official said. Sources indicated that the ministry believes the controversy goes beyond isolated technical failures and may point to lapses within the system.

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The OSM tender controversy escalated after allegations surfaced that eligibility norms and technical criteria were modified across multiple rounds of bidding before Coempt emerged as the successful bidder.
Education ministry hires experts from IITs to plug loopholes
The issue further snowballed after students began reporting blurred answer sheets, missing pages, mismatched scanned copies and repeated glitches during the reevaluation process. Opposition leaders and analysts have asked whether procurement conditions were diluted to favour a particular company. The CBSE has denied allegations of wrongdoing and maintained that the contract was awarded strictly under General Financial Rules and established procurement norms.

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But the controversy has only deepened, with ethical hackers and cybersecurity researchers flagging vulnerabilities in systems linked to CBSE’s digital evaluation infrastructure. Ministry officials said the weaknesses became more serious because CBSE still lacks a comprehensive digital repository architecture for answer sheets and examination records.

The ministry has now engaged experts from IITs to plug technological loopholes, audit the re-evaluation portal architecture and strengthen cybersecurity safeguards.