CBSE responds to Rahul Gandhi’s OSM allegations, says contract followed norms
2 min readNew DelhiUpdated: May 27, 2026 08:05 PM IST
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has rejected allegations regarding the awarding of the digital evaluation contract to Coempt Edutech, calling the claims “erroneous, misleading and not based on facts”. In a statement issued amid the ongoing controversy over the board’s On-Screen Marking (OSM) process, the CBSE said all procedures were followed while awarding the contract.
The board stated that it had followed General Financial Rules protocols “scrupulously” during the tender process. According to the CBSE, the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the digital evaluation of answer books for Board Exams 2026 was floated on the Central Public Procurement portal on August 28, 2025, and the contract was awarded to the qualified bidder after due process.
The response comes after Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi alleged “massive tampering” in CBSE exam results and termed the OSM controversy a “deliberate conspiracy”.
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
In a video statement and a post on X, Rahul Gandhi questioned why Coempt Edutech was awarded the CBSE contract and alleged that procedures may have been bypassed during the process. He also demanded an independent judicial inquiry and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe.
The controversy concerns the CBSE’s OSM system introduced for this year’s Class 12 board examinations. The issue drew attention after students raised complaints regarding answer sheets and evaluations. One student alleged that the answer sheet shown during the verification process did not belong to them, prompting broader questions about the OSM process and the handling of answer sheets.
In his statement, Rahul Gandhi alleged that Coempt Edutech had earlier operated under the name Globarena and had been linked to controversies in Telangana in 2019. He questioned why background checks were not conducted and asked what relationship the company’s management had with the Modi government. Gandhi also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he had “nothing to say” on the issue.
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