CBSE chief, secretary transferred amid OSM controversy

Central Board of Secondary Education, CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh and Secretary Himanshu Gupta have been transferred. This comes amid heightened scrutiny of the board's digital evaluation system, on screen marking (OSM) which was used for the assessment of Class 12 board examination answer sheets.

The centre has ordered an inquiry into the procurement of services for CBSE OSM system and constituted a one-member committee to examine the matter amid mounting controversy over the digital evaluation platform. The decision comes against the backdrop of concerns raised by parents and teachers over the large-scale rollout of the new answer-sheet evaluation mechanism.

According to an office memorandum issued by the cabinet secretariat on June 2, a one-member committee headed by S. Radha Chauhan, Chairperson of the Capacity Building Commission (CBC), has been constituted to inquire into matters related to the procurement of services for CBSE's OSM system. S Radha Chauhan is a retired 1988-batch IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre with more than 36 years of experience in public administration, governance and policy-making. A law graduate from university of Delhi, she currently serves as chairperson of the capacity building commission. Over her career, she has held senior positions in the Government of India and has worked extensively in digital governance, administrative reforms, education, rural development, health and e-governance initiatives.

Also read Inside the blog that brought CBSE's OSM tender under scrutiny

The memorandum states that the committee has been empowered to seek assistance from officers of other government offices whenever required. Secretarial assistance to the panel will be provided by the Capacity Building Commission. The committee has been asked to submit its report within one month to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). The move follows mounting criticism from parents and educators, who have questioned the implementation of the new system used to evaluate nearly 10 million answer sheets.

OSM controversy continues

The OSM system continues to remain at the centre of controversy in recent weeks after students reported issues such as blurred answer-sheet scans, mismatched copies and discrepancies in evaluation records. The concerns triggered demands for greater transparency in the board's digital evaluation process and questions regarding the procurement of the platform.

The issue also attracted attention from student groups, opposition leaders and education stakeholders. Earlier today, Class 12 student Sarthak Sidhant, whose analysis of CBSE tender documents gained national attention, appeared before the parliamentary standing committee on education to present findings related to the OSM tender process.

Also read CBSE OSM Row Deepens: NSUI moves Delhi HC, student Sarthak Sidhant appears before parliamentary panel

The National Students' Union of India (NSUI) moved the Delhi high court seeking an independent inquiry into alleged irregularities in the OSM system and manual rechecking of answer sheets for affected students. NSUI said concerns surrounding the OSM system grew after students reported blurred answer-sheet scans, mismatched records and technical issues while accessing their evaluated answer books. The organisation also claimed that the existing grievance redressal mechanism is insufficient, providing students with only limited avenues to seek correction of potential errors.