Congress alleges inflated CBSE OSM contract, targets Pradhan

The Congress on Friday stepped up its attack on the government over the controversy surrounding the Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) on-screen marking (OSM) system, demanding the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and calling for an independent investigation into the procurement process.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that key questions regarding the adoption of the digital evaluation system remained unanswered and claimed that only the education minister could explain why the CBSE proceeded with what he described as a costly procurement despite concerns raised within the board.

Citing reports and documents related to the procurement process, Ramesh said the CBSE Governing Body had flagged the high financial implications of implementing the OSM system during a meeting in December 2024.

According to the Congress leader, the estimated value of the contract increased significantly during the tendering process. He claimed that while the first two tenders were valued at around Rs 28 crore, the final work order was issued at approximately Rs 38.46 crore for the same volume of work.

Ramesh further alleged that based on the actual number of answer sheets scanned, the value of the work should have been considerably lower than the amount reflected in the final contract.

The Congress leader also referred to proceedings of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, claiming that CBSE officials were unable to adequately respond to questions regarding the procurement process when the matter came up before the panel earlier this week.

He argued that the minister should step down to facilitate an impartial inquiry into the allegations and claimed that the government's response so far had failed to address the core concerns raised about the procurement process.

The latest attack follows the removal of CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh and CBSE Secretary Himanshu Gupta from their positions after allegations of irregularities linked to the digital evaluation system emerged.

The controversy erupted after some Class 12 students alleged that scanned copies of their answer sheets made available by the board did not match their handwriting, prompting concerns over possible discrepancies in the evaluation process.

The issue has generated political attention, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also criticising the government's handling of the matter and demanding a judicial inquiry.

Earlier this week, the Cabinet Secretariat announced the formation of a one-member committee to investigate the procurement of services related to the OSM system.

However, the Congress has dismissed the move as inadequate, arguing that a broader and independent investigation is required to determine whether any irregularities occurred during the procurement and implementation of the digital marking platform.

The government has not yet responded in detail to the latest allegations made by the opposition regarding the tendering process and contract valuation.

With PTI inputs