CBSE OSM System Row: Class 12 Student Sarthak Sidhant Appears Before Parliamentary Panel, Flags Alleged Tender Irregularities (Watch Video)
Sarthak Sidhant, a Class 12 student impacted by the Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) On-Screen Marking (OSM) system, appeared before a parliamentary panel on Tuesday. Sidhant presented findings detailing alleged irregularities in the tendering process for the evaluation system, alongside broader concerns regarding transparency and assessment quality.
Sarthak Sidhant, a Class 12 student impacted by the Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) On-Screen Marking (OSM) system, appeared before a parliamentary panel on Tuesday. Sidhant presented findings detailing alleged irregularities in the tendering process for the evaluation system, alongside broader concerns regarding transparency and assessment quality. The presentation took place at the Parliament House Annexe before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports. The committee is currently reviewing the operational roll-out of the digital grading system in the CBSE Class 12 examinations following an influx of complaints from students.
Prior to the meeting, Sidhant stated that a comparative analysis of successive CBSE tender documents revealed at least 15 structural discrepancies. He alleged that changes to the Request for Proposal (RFP) criteria appeared designed to systematically favor a specific digital service provider. Specifically, Sidhant highlighted modifications made to vendor evaluation standards. In previous tender agreements, three explicit clauses mandated the disqualification of service providers for poor performance or blacklisting. According to Sidhant, these accountability metrics were completely omitted from the newly issued RFP. CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh and Secretary Himanshu Gupta Transferred Over OSM Portal Fiasco.
He further alleged that requirements regulating financial qualification thresholds, Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) levels, and general project eligibility criteria were substantially altered across different tender versions. Sidhant conducted the research in coordination with ethical hacker Nisarg Adhikari and independent investigative journalists. While the presentation challenges the board's procurement process, Sidhant noted that his objective is not to abolish digital evaluation entirely, but to ensure proper safeguards. CBSE Re-Evaluation Portal Faces Multiple Cyberattack Attempts on Day 1, Services Remain Unaffected.
Sarthak Sidhant Appears Before Parliamentary Panel Over Evaluation Concerns
"I think OSM is a good change, but there should be wide rollouts first and good demo pilots," Sidhant stated ahead of the hearing, adding that he hopes the inquiry leads to enhanced transparency in both public procurement and public education systems. In addition to investigating the digital evaluation tenders, the parliamentary panel is scheduled to review the ongoing implementation of the three-language formula across Classes 9 and 10 nationwide.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 02, 2026 06:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).