"Who lowered the bar for COEMPT?": Rahul Gandhi questions CBSE tender process amid OSM row

New Delhi [India], May 29 : Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday questioned the transparency of the CBSE tender process for its On-Screen Marking (OSM) digital evaluation system, alleging that technical norms were repeatedly diluted to enable a particular company to secure the contract.
In a post on X, Gandhi shared a media report on the issue and alleged that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) modified tender conditions multiple times before awarding the contract to COEMPT. The Congress MP alleged that several technical requirements were relaxed during the process, including scanning resolution standards, robotic scanner requirements and software certification norms.
"Read this story. Carefully.CBSE called for OSM tenders thrice. Zero bids the first time. No qualified bidder the second time. And finally, the technical bar was lowered until COEMPT could clear it. Scanning resolution cut. Robotic scanner requirement dropped. CMMI certification lowered from Level 5 to Level 3. Penalties for errors in answer sheets removed," he alleged.
Gandhi further alleged that despite qualifying in the third round, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) lost the contract to COEMPT, which he described as having a poor track record. He also claimed that teachers had warned CBSE against implementing the OSM system nationwide without adequate preparation.
"TCS, India's biggest IT services company, qualified in the third round too. TCS lost. COEMPT - a company with a spectacular track record of failure - won. And what are CBSE students complaining about today? Badly scanned answer sheets. Missing pages. A broken evaluation portal. Teachers had warned CBSE that the OSM system needed at least a year or two for further preparation before nationwide implementation, yet it was rushed through," said Gandhi.
Questioning the decision-making process behind the contract award, Gandhi said the issue was not merely about procedure but about whether the contract had been fairly awarded to the most capable company. Gandhi further demanded an independent judicial probe into the matter and alleged that the future of lakhs of students had been compromised.
"So I ask again - who wanted COEMPT to win? Who lowered the bar, step by step, until this company could clear it? Pradhan ji and CBSE say "due process was followed." That is not an answer, that is not accountability. The question is whether the contract was honestly awarded to the best company which could do the job correctly. The futures of 18.5 lakh children were handed to a company that could only qualify after the rules were bent for it. To the BJP Ministers attacking me for asking questions - I have, from day one, demanded an independent judicial probe. Expand it from CBSE to every contract awarded to COEMPT." said Gandhi.
Targeting the Centre, Gandhi also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue. "Our youth deserve the truth. And Modi ji, your silence on the CBSE debacle and inaction against the Education Minister tells the country what you actually care about - not the futures of lakhs of students, only the survival of your own government," said Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged "massive tampering" in CBSE exam results and demanded an independent judicial probe and SIT investigation, claiming that the future of nearly 1.85 million students has been compromised due to alleged irregularities in the evaluation system.
In a post shared on X, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said the controversy points to a "deliberate conspiracy" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government and raised questions over the awarding of contracts related to the evaluation system.
"There has been a massive tampering in the CBSE exam results, leaving millions of children across the country and their parents in shock. And Mr. Modi? As always--no answers, no accountability, no shame," he wrote.
He further alleged that the company COEMPT, which was assigned responsibility for the system, had earlier operated under the name Globarena and was involved in a similar controversy in Telangana in 2019.
"Name changed--but the intent is the same, the nature the same. Everyone knew the history, yet the contract was still awarded. The future of 1.85 million children was handed over to such a company, and no one batted an eye. This isn't a mistake--it's a deliberate conspiracy," he further wrote.
However, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Tuesday strongly refuted the claims about On-Screen Marking (OSM) being compromised, stating that the URL circulating on social media is different from the portal used for the evaluation of answer books.
In an official statement, CBSE clarified that the URL circulating on social media is not the actual evaluation portal but a testing site containing sample data.
"The Portal used for evaluation of answer-books bore a different URL, which has neither been compromised nor does it have the vulnerabilities indicated in the said social media post," the Board said, adding that no actual student data or marks were exposed.
This comes at a time when the CBSE is facing mounting pressure following reports of technical failures in its post-result portal and discrepancies in evaluated answer sheets.