Congress leader Rahul Gandhi intensified his attack on CBSE over alleged irregularities in its digital evaluation and hiring process, citing a student’s investigative blog. The controversy has sparked political debate, with demands for a judicial inquiry into tender modifications, evaluation transparency, and the handling of Class 12 examination results.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has intensified his criticism of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), citing findings from a student’s blog to allege irregularities in the board’s hiring and evaluation processes. The renewed attack comes at a time when CBSE has initiated a re-evaluation process for Class 12 examination answer sheets, following reports that nearly nine lakh scanned copies had been shared online with students.
Taking to social media platform X on Friday, Rahul Gandhi referred to a blog written by 17-year-old student Sarthak Sidhant, claiming that the student had uncovered evidence suggesting that CBSE altered its selection process to benefit a private company, Coempt Edu Teck (COEMPT).
“Seventeen-year-old Sarthak Sidhant has exposed how CBSE manipulated its own selection process to benefit COEMPT, using CBSE’s own documents,” Gandhi wrote. He further alleged that details highlighted in the student’s blog revealed changes in the Request for Proposal (RFP) process that allegedly favored COEMPT at the expense of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
The Congress leader also targeted Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, stating that the information presented in the blog challenged the government’s earlier denials regarding the issue. Gandhi questioned why the Prime Minister had remained silent and asked who was being protected through the alleged manipulation.
This is not the first time Gandhi has raised concerns regarding CBSE’s functioning. Earlier, he accused the board of manipulating an evaluation contract to favor Coempt Edu Teck and alleged that there had been “massive tampering” in examination results. He described the matter as a deliberate conspiracy that warranted independent scrutiny.
However, CBSE has strongly rejected the allegations and denied any wrongdoing in awarding the contract. The board has maintained that all procedures were conducted according to established norms and regulations. Meanwhile, leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) countered Gandhi’s criticism by pointing out that the same company had reportedly secured projects from institutions in Telangana and Karnataka, states currently governed by the Congress party.
Amid the growing controversy, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan chaired a high-level review meeting at the CBSE headquarters in New Delhi on Thursday. The meeting focused on issues related to the evaluation system and post-result procedures for Class 12 examinations. The review came against the backdrop of increasing concerns about transparency and accountability in the board’s digital assessment mechanisms.
Rahul Gandhi reiterated his demand for an independent judicial inquiry into the matter. In another post, he argued that only a judicial investigation could reveal the full extent of the alleged irregularities.
“An independent judicial inquiry is now essential to uncover the full extent of this scam,” he stated.
The Congress leader also praised the efforts of student blogger Sarthak Sidhant, describing India’s younger generation as fearless and determined to uncover the truth. Sarthak, a Class 12 student, wrote in his blog that he was among the millions of students affected by the On Screen Marking (OSM) system introduced by CBSE. He claimed to have examined tender documents and procurement processes over several days and highlighted what he described as loopholes in the system.
The controversy has been further amplified by concerns raised by another student, Vedant Shrivastava. After receiving marks that he considered unexpectedly low in Physics, Vedant applied for a photocopy of his answer sheet on May 19. He later claimed on social media that the answer sheet sent to him by CBSE did not match his handwriting and appeared to belong to another student.
The incident quickly gained attention online and fueled concerns regarding the integrity of the digital evaluation process. CBSE later acknowledged the error, provided Vedant with the correct answer sheet, and rectified the issue. Vedant subsequently confirmed that the board had sent the correct document.
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As the debate continues, the issue has evolved into a major political confrontation between the Congress and the BJP. Questions surrounding evaluation transparency, digital assessment systems, tender procedures, and accountability within the country’s education system are likely to remain at the center of public discussion in the coming weeks.
