CBSE OSM row: Centre shunts out top officials as S. Radha Chauhan takes charge of procurement probe

The Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) On-Screen Marking (OSM) controversy took a significant turn today, with the Centre transferring the board's chairman and secretary and ordering a formal inquiry into the procurement of services for the digital evaluation system.

According to an official order, a one-member committee headed by S. Radha Chauhan, Chairperson of the Capacity Building Commission, has been constituted to examine matters related to the procurement of services for the OSM system.

The committee has been asked to submit its report to the Department of Personnel and Training within one month.

The move comes at a time when CBSE is facing scrutiny over the implementation of the digital evaluation system, complaints regarding discrepancies in evaluated answer sheets and allegations relating to changes in tender conditions governing the project.

Top CBSE officials transferred

The Centre also transferred CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh and Secretary Himanshu Gupta on Tuesday.

According to IANS, the action follows growing concerns among students and parents over alleged irregularities linked to the OSM system.

Rahul Singh was serving as CBSE chairman, while Himanshu Gupta held the additional charge of Chief Administrative Officer.

Neither the government order constituting the inquiry committee nor the transfer orders publicly linked the transfers to any specific findings.

What will the committee examine?

The official memorandum states that the committee will inquire into matters relating to the procurement of services for the On-Screen Marking system by CBSE.

"The Chairperson has been empowered to obtain the assistance of officers from other offices, as required," the order stated.

Secretarial support for the inquiry will be provided by the Capacity Building Commission.

While the government has not detailed the scope of the inquiry, questions around procurement have become a central part of the controversy in recent weeks.

Class 12 student Sarthak Sidhant, who has been among the most prominent voices raising concerns about the OSM rollout, has alleged that eligibility and qualification criteria in successive tenders were modified in ways that benefited a particular vendor. CBSE has not publicly accepted those allegations.

Parliament panel also reviewing concerns

The Centre's decision came on the same day that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports reviewed concerns related to the OSM system.

According to ANI, the committee heard a presentation from Sidhant and examined issues relating to evaluation practices and transparency in the assessment process.

After the meeting, committee chairman Digvijaya Singh said the panel would consider the issues raised by students as well as the responses provided by CBSE.

"He has made his presentation. It is for the committee to decide on the replies given by the CBSE," Singh told ANI.

The parliamentary panel is examining both the implementation of the OSM system in Class 12 examinations and concerns raised by students regarding evaluation.

Re-evaluation portal opens

The developments also coincided with the opening of CBSE's re-evaluation portal for students seeking review of their results.

According to CBSE, the portal became operational today, June 2 and will remain open until midnight on June 6.

Students who have obtained scanned copies of their evaluated answer books can apply for verification of issues in those copies and seek re-evaluation of specific answers.

CBSE has fixed the fee at Rs 100 per answer book for verification requests and Rs 25 per question for re-evaluation.

Cybersecurity agencies monitoring portal

Meanwhile, Education Ministry sources told ANI that cybersecurity agencies, including the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), are monitoring cyberattacks targeting the OSM re-evaluation portal.

According to ANI, government agencies and experts from the Indian Institutes of Technology have also been deployed to strengthen the platform's security infrastructure.

The OSM system was introduced by CBSE this year for Class 12 board examinations. Under the system, evaluators assessed scanned copies of answer sheets rather than physical answer books.

What began as student complaints over discrepancies in digital answer sheet evaluation has now expanded into questions about procurement, oversight and accountability. With a parliamentary committee examining the issue and a government-appointed inquiry now underway, attention is likely to move from individual result disputes to how the system itself was introduced and managed.

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