New Delhi:
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) today rejected allegations by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that questioned the board’s on-screen marking (OSM) system. The CBSE, in response to a post by Gandhi on X, alluded to how the Congress MP added conspiratorial colours to a matter about the board giving a contract to a private company, Coempt Edutech.
The CBSE said his claim was “erroneous, misleading and not based on facts”. It said the contract was indeed awarded to Coempt Edutech – only after following due procedure under the General Financial Rules, which are mandatory and legally binding best practices laid down by the government.
“CBSE has followed the General Financial Rules protocols scrupulously in the awarding of the contract to the agency. CBSE floated the RFP for Digital Evaluation of Answer books for Board Exams 2026 on Central Public Procurement portal on 28.08.2025 and awarded the contract to the qualified bidder,” the CBSE said, referring to request for proposal, or RPF.
CBSE rejects the allegations regarding the award of contract to Coempt Edutech. It is erroneous, misleading and not based on facts.
CBSE has followed the General Financial Rules protocols scrupulously in the awarding of the contract to the agency. CBSE floated the RFP for…
— CBSE HQ (@cbseindia29) May 27, 2026
After making the allegations, Gandhi sought an independent judicial probe and the formation of a special investigation team (SIT). He alleged the private company that got the CBSE contract had a murky past in Telangana.
According to CBSE, the total number of registered candidates was 18,57,517, and the total answer books scanned was 98,66,622. Evaluators were empowered to reject poor-quality scans with comments and corrective action was taken immediately through rescanning and reassignment. The total answer books rescanned due to quality concerns was 68,018. In 13,583 cases, scan quality remained persistently deficient, hence manual evaluation was done, and marks uploaded after proper verification, it said.
A petition has already been filed in the Allahabad High Court alleging wrongdoing in the “hurried” rollout of the new OSM system. Gandhi said the company was previously under the name Globarena in Telangana in 2019.
“… They changed the name – but the intention remains the same, and the character is unchanged. Everyone knew their history, yet the contract was still awarded to them. The future of 1.85 million children was handed over to such a company, and no one cared. This is not a mistake – this is a deliberate, well-planned conspiracy,” Gandhi alleged.
The CBSE controversy comes days after the NEET-UG 2026 was cancelled following a paper leak. Several accused have been arrested.
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