The Indian National Congress on Monday, 1 June demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi stop shielding institutional failure and fix accountability for the technical lapses in CBSE's On-screen Marking (OSM) system, which affected Class 12 students across the country. The demand came after aggrieved students exposed discrepancies including blurred answer sheets, missing pages, and incomplete digitisation on the revaluation portal.

Congress Demands Resignation of Education Minister

Pawan Khera, Chairman of Media and Publicity at the All India Congress Committee (AICC), said in a statement that Dharmendra Pradhan must resign immediately as Union Education Minister for presiding over what Congress described as one of the biggest institutional failures in India's education history. Khera characterised the CBSE portal glitches as symptomatic of a deeper rot in the education system under the current government.

'Twelve years of blatant misrule and relentless propaganda have eaten away at the foundations of India's education system. CBSE compromised, UGC destroyed, scientific temper diminished, NCERT Textbook coloured, VCs appointed by RSS, any student protests bulldozed, Rights of SC-ST-OBC-EWS-minority youth snatched, Unemployment at its peak and persistent cuts in education budget — is the story of India's youth under BJP,' Khera said.

Key Questions Raised Over CBSE's Digital Evaluation System

Khera posed pointed questions to the Prime Minister, asking why CBSE allegedly ignored internal warnings from teachers and experts about 36 major flaws in the digital evaluation system before imposing it on 18.5 lakh students within weeks. He also questioned who ordered the dilution of CBSE tender norms, including the alleged reduction of scan quality standards, removal of mandatory robotic scanners, and weakening of cybersecurity safeguards prior to awarding the contract.

Controversy Over Vendor COEMPT and Contract Award

The Congress leader targeted COEMPT, the company awarded the contract for scanning answer sheets by CBSE, questioning why it was preferred over TCS despite what he described as a 'shady track record' and a name change from its earlier identity as Globarena. Khera alleged that technical eligibility rules were repeatedly changed until this particular vendor became eligible, and asked what he called the 'alleged proximity' between the contractor and individuals linked to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ecosystem. He demanded to know on whose orders the contract was awarded and why no background checks were conducted.

Broader Education System Under Scrutiny

Khera broadened his attack, citing a pattern of examination failures — from NEET and UGC NET to CUET and now CBSE — as evidence of systemic collapse. He accused the government of hollowing out UGC funding and pushing India's education system into chaos. This comes amid sustained public pressure over the integrity of national examinations, with the NEET controversy still fresh in public memory.

Notably, this is not the first time the Congress has raised questions about the CBSE's digital infrastructure. The party has consistently targeted the government over examination irregularities, and the latest salvo appears designed to build political pressure ahead of the budget session. Whether the government will respond to these accountability demands or treat them as routine political opposition remains to be seen.