Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday strongly criticised Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his allegations of tampering in the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) On-Screen Marking (OSM) system used for evaluating Class 12 answer sheets. Pradhan accused the Congress leader of making baseless claims out of “frustration” following repeated electoral setbacks.
The row erupted after Rahul Gandhi questioned the credibility of the CBSE evaluation process and alleged large-scale irregularities in the board examination results. He claimed that the controversy surrounding the digital assessment system had caused anxiety among lakhs of students and parents across the country.
In a social media post, Gandhi alleged that there had been “massive tampering” in the CBSE results and raised concerns over the company involved in the digital evaluation process. According to him, the firm Coempt Edutech, which received the contract linked to the OSM system, had previously operated under the name Globarena and had faced controversy in Telangana in 2019.
“Name changed, but the intent remains the same,” Gandhi alleged, while demanding accountability from the government. He also renewed his attack on the Narendra Modi government, urging the Prime Minister to seek Pradhan’s resignation. Gandhi linked the issue to the earlier controversy surrounding the NEET-UG examination paper leak, accusing the Centre of failing to protect the integrity of major national examinations.
Reacting sharply to the allegations, Pradhan dismissed Gandhi’s claims and accused him of repeatedly targeting institutions without evidence. Speaking to reporters, the Union minister said Gandhi had previously raised doubts over Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and Digital India initiatives, and was once again trying to create unnecessary controversy.
“Continuous electoral defeats have left Rahul Gandhi frustrated. He keeps raising issues that have no factual basis and opposes every technological and scientific advancement in the country,” Pradhan said.
The minister stressed that the government’s immediate concern was the welfare of students and ensuring that they do not face mental stress because of political statements. He said the education system should not become a platform for spreading confusion among students and parents.
Meanwhile, the CBSE also rejected the allegations and issued an official clarification defending the transparency of the evaluation process. The board stated that the claims regarding the award of the contract to Coempt Edutech were “misleading and factually incorrect”.
“CBSE rejects the allegations regarding the award of the contract to Coempt Edutech. The claims being circulated are erroneous, misleading and not based on facts,” the board said in its statement.
The controversy comes at a time when concerns over the conduct of competitive and board examinations have become a politically sensitive issue. Opposition parties have repeatedly targeted the Centre over alleged lapses in examination systems, while the government has maintained that reforms and technological upgrades are being implemented to strengthen transparency and efficiency.
The On-Screen Marking system is part of the CBSE’s digital evaluation mechanism aimed at speeding up the assessment process and reducing human error. Under the system, scanned copies of answer sheets are evaluated digitally by examiners.
The exchange between Rahul Gandhi and Dharmendra Pradhan has added a fresh political dimension to the ongoing debate over examination reforms and accountability in India’s education system.
