CBSE OSM Row: Student Whistleblower Raises Concerns Before Parliamentary Panel

The controversy surrounding the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) On-Screen Marking (OSM) system reached Parliament on Tuesday as Class 12 student and whistleblower Sarthak Sidhant appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports to present his concerns regarding the digital evaluation process and alleged irregularities in the tendering procedure.

Following the meeting, committee chairman Digvijaya Singh told the media that the panel would examine the issues raised by students and consider the concerns presented during the discussion. Sidhant has been actively questioning the implementation of the OSM system since the declaration of CBSE Class 12 results, alleging that technical glitches and procedural shortcomings may have affected students.

During his presentation, Sidhant outlined findings from his analysis of multiple CBSE tender documents related to the OSM project. He alleged that several changes in tender conditions appeared to favour a particular vendor involved in the implementation of the digital evaluation mechanism. Among the issues highlighted were modifications to provisions concerning poor performance, blacklisting criteria, financial eligibility requirements, Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) standards, and project qualification norms.

The meeting was attended by senior education officials, including Rahul Singh, Chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education, and Sanjay Kumar, Secretary in the Department of School Education and Literacy. Officials from the Ministry of Education and CBSE were also present during the proceedings.

In response to the concerns raised, CBSE submitted a report to the parliamentary panel explaining its position on the difficulties experienced by students. The board informed committee members that technical issues reported on its portal had been addressed and rectified. It also assured the panel that students would continue to have time until June 6 to apply for re-evaluation and verification of their answer sheets.

The development marks a rare instance of a school student directly presenting concerns before a parliamentary committee on a national education issue. The committee is expected to review the submissions made by both the student and CBSE before deciding on any further recommendations. The episode has intensified scrutiny of the board’s transition to digital evaluation systems and renewed discussions on transparency, accountability, and fairness in examination assessment processes.