NEW DELHI: Hours before the government shunted out two top CBSE officials, Sarthak Sidhant, a whistleblower student from Jharkhand affected by the CBSE’s online marking system, made a presentation before a parliamentary panel on Tuesday on alleged irregularities in the tendering process for vendor selection for online marking in the Class XII exams.
Amid a row over the CBSE’s on-screen marking system (OSM), the committee headed by Congress MP Digvijay Singh had summoned senior officials of the board and the Ministry of School Education to discuss OSM and the problems faced by students.
However, the CBSE officials did not answer queries raised by panel members on the alleged irregularities in the vendor-tendering process for online marking in the Class XII exams, and instead said that they would submit a written response later, sources said.
Sarthak, who appeared in the exams, pointed out the anomalies in the tendering process of the CBSE to select venders for online marking and put forth a set of questions for the board, sources said. He also presented a seven-page copy of his findings before the Parliamentary Committee for Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, who heard him and demanded answers from CBSE.
Sarthak’s presentation was made in the presence of now transferred CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh and Secretary, School Education, Sanjay Kumar, along with other officials of the Ministry of Education and the board.
Queries raised by the student on system anomalies and the lack of background checks before handing over the contract for OSM led the panel chairman and some members to demand answers from the board officials.
While the officials answered some of the questions, they did not give replies to specific queries raised on why the contract was awarded to a firm without background checks and why norms were changed arbitrarily at the last minute. The CBSE officials said they would made a written submission on the issues raised.
The issue of going ahead with online marking without proper system checks or trial runs and without training teachers was also raised by the panel. Besides, the chairman and some members demanded that accountability be fixed and action taken against those responsible for the anomalies.
The CBSE officials informed the panel that the board’s system server, which was down, is now running fine. They told the panel that students can apply up to June 6 for revaluation and that there is nothing to panic, sources said, adding the board asserted there is no need to extend this window as there is sufficient time to apply.
Some members sought grace marks or early evaluation.
