CBSE Chairman and Secretary Removed Amid OSM Tender Controversy

The central government has taken action by removing the chairman and secretary of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) due to controversies surrounding the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system. According to reports, students had raised concerns about discrepancies in the OSM process, prompting this decision. A committee has been established to investigate the tender and procurement process related to the OSM service.

In a related development, CBSE's re-evaluation portal faced a cyberattack on Tuesday. The board reported that within two minutes, 15 lakh access attempts were made, and over one lakh unauthorized file access attempts were recorded. Despite the attack, the portal remained functional, and by 3 PM, over 16,000 students had successfully submitted applications. The portal had been launched on Monday, following the announcement of CBSE's Class 12 results on May 13. This year marked the first time the OSM system was used for evaluating answer sheets.

The controversy has also reached the parliamentary standing committee on education, where a Class 12 student, Sarthak Siddhant, presented his findings on alleged irregularities in the OSM system. He claimed to have identified at least 15 discrepancies and shared key points with the committee. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has sought a report from CBSE regarding the tender awarded to COEMPT, the company responsible for the OSM system.

Further developments are expected as investigations continue into the allegations and the cyberattack.