CBSE Exam Row: Rahul Gandhi Questions Digital Evaluation Contract Amid Allegations

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) faced a significant controversy in May 2026 regarding its newly implemented On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for Class 12 board examinations and a contract awarded to Hyderabad-based firm Coempt Edu Teck. The issue escalated after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged "massive tampering" in the exam results, claiming that the future of millions of students was compromised due to irregularities in the evaluation system. Gandhi, in a video message and posts on X, specifically targeted Coempt Edu Teck, stating that the company, which implemented the OSM, had a patchy track record. He alleged that Coempt Edu Teck had previously operated under the name Globarena and was involved in controversies in Telangana in 2019 and 2023, where similar OSM-based errors reportedly led to student suicides. Gandhi questioned why CBSE awarded the contract to such a firm, suggesting that background checks were skipped, rules were bypassed, and implying a nexus between the company's management and the government. He demanded an independent judicial inquiry and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the matter. In response, CBSE promptly and strongly rejected Gandhi's allegations, labeling them as "erroneous, misleading and not based on facts". The board asserted that all due procedures and General Financial Rules (GFR) protocols were scrupulously followed in awarding the contract to Coempt Edu Teck. CBSE stated that the Request for Proposal (RFP) for digital evaluation was floated on the Central Public Procurement portal on August 28, 2025, and the contract was subsequently awarded to the qualified bidder. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also weighed in, hitting back at Rahul Gandhi. Pradhan accused Gandhi of making "baseless" allegations without proper fact-checking, and suggested that Gandhi was "frustrated" due to continuous electoral defeats. While defending CBSE's procurement process as being in line with government policy, Pradhan acknowledged that there had been some issues with the OSM system and took responsibility for any inconvenience caused to students. He assured that corrective measures were being taken and that accountability would be fixed if any irregularities were found, appealing against the politicization of the issue. The controversy was fueled by widespread student complaints following the declaration of Class 12 results on May 13, 2026. Many students reported issues such as blurred scans, missing pages, mismatched answer sheets, unmarked answers, and unexpectedly low marks, particularly in core subjects. This led to a significant increase in requests for scanned copies and re-evaluation applications. For instance, one student's Physics marks reportedly increased from 71 to 90 after re-evaluation, and a History paper jumped from 74 to 97. The overall pass percentage for Class 12 also saw a noticeable drop from 88.39% in the previous year to 85.2% in 2026, sparking panic among students and parents. Details emerging about the Coempt Edu Teck contract indicate that the company, which employs fewer than 60 professionals, won a contract worth approximately Rs 384 crore for digitally evaluating nearly one crore Class 12 answer books, reportedly beating Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Concerns were raised by student bloggers and cybersecurity researchers about the tendering process, alleging that eligibility criteria were diluted across three rounds of tenders, potentially favoring Coempt. Specifically, the requirement for 100 trained professionals was reduced to 15 in the final RFP, and Coempt received full marks for past experience in scanning and distributing subjective answer scripts, where TCS scored zero. Coempt's financial bid was also significantly lower than TCS's (Rs 384.6 crore versus Rs 951.3 crore). Furthermore, CBSE acknowledged initial technical glitches, including login issues, system overload, and scanning deficiencies, with 68,018 answer books requiring rescanning due to poor image quality and 13,583 checked manually. The board has also decided to impose financial penalties on Coempt Edu Teck for vulnerabilities found in the online system related to security, data handling, and operational performance. The Union Education Ministry subsequently sought a detailed report from CBSE on the OSM tender process amidst mounting scrutiny, promising strong action if any wrongdoing or procedural lapses are established. The controversy highlighted broader issues of transparency, accessibility, and accountability in digital examination systems.

Frequently Asked Questions

Read Full Story on Quick Digest