‘PR campaign’? KV students’ video praising CBSE OSM sparks backlash online

The controversy surrounding CBSE’s On-Screen Marking (OSM) system intensified further after videos of students defending the digital evaluation process surfaced on social media, triggering criticism and a fresh online debate. Videos featuring students from Kendriya Vidyalaya Imphal praising the newly introduced OSM system began circulating online amid ongoing concerns over answer-sheet mismatches, portal glitches and evaluation discrepancies.

What particularly drew attention online was that some students appearing in the video belong to the 2024-25 topper batch (as indicated by posters visible in the background) even though the OSM system was introduced this year. In the video, students described the OSM system “transparent”, “neutral”, “systematic” and “accountable”. Some also claimed the digital evaluation process reduced chances of errors and should be implemented on a larger scale in the future.

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“As we are living in a more developing world, the initiative taken by CBSE by introducing OSM is quite systematic and accountable,” one student said in a video shared online. Another student described the newly introduced OSM process “unbiased and transparent”.

However, the videos quickly sparked backlash online, with several users calling them a “PR campaign” aimed at countering criticism. “To counter the ongoing controversy, PR videos are being posted,” one user wrote. Another commented, “The entire govt is running on PR campaigns and marketing gimmicks to save their image.” Replying to the same another user posted, "This government itself is running on a PR campaign; CBSE is just a small unit.”

Several social media users also questioned why students who had not appeared in exam this year were asked to defend it publicly. “Using students who never even studied under OSM to market OSM is actually crazy work,” one user wrote. “Do these students actually know what OSM is?” another questioned.

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Over the past few weeks, students have raised concerns regarding uploaded answer-sheet mismatches, portal glitches and alleged discrepancies in evaluation. A 19-year-old ethical hacker also claimed to have identified vulnerabilities in the portal’s login and authentication systems, allegations denied by CBSE.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had earlier accused the board of “massive tampering” and questioned the role of Coempt Edutech, while Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also criticised the BJP government over the issue.

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Legal notice alleges 'gross negligence'

Meanwhile, the controversy has also taken a legal turn. Advocate Vineet Jindal claimed that more students had approached him alleging that incorrect answer sheets were uploaded under the OSM re-evaluation process. Sharing copies of legal notices issued to CBSE and the Ministry of Education, the advocate alleged “gross negligence” and “serious irregularity” in the Online Scanned Copy/OSM process. The notice sought the original answer sheets of affected students and raised concerns regarding alleged violations of students’ rights during the re-evaluation process.

Amid mounting criticism, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently acknowledged that “certain discrepancies” had surfaced in the OSM process and assured students that corrective measures and re-evaluation support would be provided. Meanwhile, CBSE continues to defend the platform by describing it as secure, transparent and student-centric.