CBSE results mess: Congress MP Venugopal urges PM Modi to intervene
Synopsis
Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal has written to PM Modi demanding urgent intervention over CBSE's On-Screen Marking system, which he says has caused 'catastrophic discrepancies' and saddled students with revaluation fees as high as ₹69,420 — with the application deadline closing on 29 May. The letter frames the crisis as part of a wider pattern of examination mismanagement, invoking the NEET row.
Key Takeaways
Congress General Secretary K.C.
Venugopal wrote to PM Modi on 26 May over CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) evaluation errors.
Students are reportedly facing revaluation fee demands ranging from ₹8,000 to ₹69,420 , which Venugopal called arbitrary and exorbitant.
The revaluation application deadline is 29 May ; the answer-sheet copy request window has already closed.
The Education Ministry has deployed experts from IIT Madras and IIT Kanpur to fix the portal, but Venugopal says this does not address the flawed evaluation itself.
Venugopal linked the CBSE crisis to the NEET fiasco , escalating it into a broader political challenge to the government.
Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal on Tuesday, 26 May wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging his immediate intervention over what he called 'catastrophic discrepancies' in the Central Board of Secondary Education's newly introduced On-Screen Marking (OSM) digital evaluation system for Class 10 and 12 board examinations. Venugopal demanded a one-time, time-bound redressal for all affected students before upcoming higher education deadlines.
What Venugopal Alleged
In his letter, Venugopal said the OSM system has caused 'widespread panic' among lakhs of students across India and in Gulf countries due to thousands of errors surfacing in evaluated answer sheets. He further alleged that the CBSE is levying arbitrary and exorbitant revaluation fees, with students reportedly facing payment demands ranging from ₹8,000 to ₹69,420 for simple revaluation requests — figures he described as punitive for a crisis not of the students' making.
He also flagged alleged glitches in the CBSE's payment gateway, which have compounded the difficulties students face in even applying for revaluation.
The Deadline Crunch
Venugopal noted that the deadline for requesting a copy of answer sheets expired at midnight on 25–26 May, while the revaluation application window is set to close on 29 May. 'The deadline for applying for a copy of the answer sheet expired last midnight. With the revaluation application deadline fast approaching on May 29, anxiety among the student community is peaking,' he said. He argued that students must not be 'penalised financially, academically, or mentally for a colossal administrative and systemic failure by the CBSE.'
Government's Response So Far
The Education Ministry has announced the deployment of technical experts from IIT Madras and IIT Kanpur to address portal functionality issues. Venugopal, however, said this measure falls short. 'It does absolutely nothing to fix the underlying reality that the initial digital evaluation itself was fundamentally faulty and compromised,' he wrote. He called for a structural fix, not just a website patch.
Political Dimension
Venugopal linked the CBSE controversy to the broader NEET examination row, arguing that the government's handling of high-stakes national examinations reflects a systemic failure. 'A government that cannot manage a simple secondary education exam, let alone cause the disastrous NEET fiasco, has no right to make tall claims of being a Vishwaguru,' he said in a post on X. This comes amid sustained opposition pressure on the Centre over examination irregularities, making the CBSE OSM issue a fresh political flashpoint ahead of the revaluation deadline.
What Venugopal Has Demanded
The Congress leader has called on Prime Minister Modi to personally intervene and ensure a one-time redressal mechanism so that no student misses critical higher education admission deadlines. Whether the government will respond before the 29 May cutoff remains to be seen.
Point of View
And a second high-profile exam failure in the same cycle risks cementing a narrative of systemic breakdown. The fee range of ₹8,000 to ₹69,420 for revaluation is the sharpest detail here: if those figures are accurate, they represent not just a technical glitch but a governance failure at the student-facing end of a national board. The government's IIT-expert response addresses optics, not substance — and with the 29 May deadline immovable, the window for a credible fix is narrow. Opposition pressure alone rarely forces mid-cycle policy reversals, but the combination of student protests, social media outrage, and a formal PM-addressed letter raises the political cost of inaction.
NationPress
11 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the CBSE On-Screen Marking (OSM) controversy?
The CBSE introduced On-Screen Marking (OSM), a digital evaluation system for Class 10 and 12 board exams, which has reportedly generated thousands of errors in evaluated answer sheets. Students and opposition leaders allege the system has caused widespread discrepancies in results and arbitrary revaluation charges.
What fees are students being charged for CBSE revaluation?
According to Congress leader K.C. Venugopal's letter to PM Modi, students have reported payment demands ranging from ₹8,000 to ₹69,420 for simple revaluation requests — amounts he described as arbitrary and exorbitant given that the errors stem from a systemic CBSE failure.
What is the deadline for CBSE revaluation applications?
The deadline for applying for revaluation of CBSE Class 10 and 12 answer sheets is 29 May. The window for requesting a copy of the answer sheet has already closed as of the midnight of 25–26 May.
What has the government done to address the CBSE portal issues?
The Education Ministry has announced the deployment of technical experts from IIT Madras and IIT Kanpur to fix the CBSE portal's functionality. Critics, including Venugopal, argue this does not address the underlying flaw in the digital evaluation process itself.
How does this relate to the NEET controversy?
Congress has drawn a direct parallel between the CBSE OSM crisis and the NEET examination irregularities, arguing both reflect a broader failure of examination governance under the current government. Venugopal cited both cases to challenge the government's claims of educational excellence.
