Dharmendra Pradhan assures students after CBSE OSM row, says no query will remain unanswered

The recent controversy around the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and its On Screen Marking (OSM) system has created concern among students and parents across the country. After reports of mistakes and possible problems in the evaluation process started spreading online, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stepped forward and said that he takes full responsibility for the issue. He also promised students that no concern or question would remain unanswered.

The minister said students should not panic and assured them that every complaint related to marks, evaluation, or discrepancies would be properly examined. According to him, the government and CBSE are committed to ensuring fairness in the examination process.

The issue came into focus after claims appeared on social media about possible discrepancies in the CBSE On Screen Marking system. Some people even alleged that the evaluation platform had been hacked. These reports quickly raised concerns among lakhs of students and families waiting for clarity.

However, both the education ministry and CBSE have tried to calm fears by saying that the system used for evaluating answer sheets remains secure and that all concerns will be addressed carefully.

Pradhan says students’ concerns will not be ignored

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan strongly reacted to the reports and made it clear that student concerns would be treated seriously. Speaking about the matter, he said he accepts responsibility for the confusion and promised corrective action wherever needed.

Pradhan said that no student should feel helpless or worried because every complaint will be reviewed. He assured that all unresolved questions related to evaluation or marks would receive proper attention.

He explained that the answer sheets of students have been safely preserved and can be checked if needed. According to him, the system has safeguards to ensure transparency and accountability.

The minister said around 17 lakh students appeared for the examinations. Since the evaluation process involved a very large number of answer sheets, CBSE adopted the digital On Screen Marking system for checking papers.

He explained that nearly 98 lakh answer-sheet copies were involved in the process. Since each answer sheet usually contains around 40 pages, this meant approximately 40 crore scanned pages had to be evaluated digitally.

This large-scale digital process was introduced for the first time by CBSE to improve efficiency and transparency in paper checking.

Despite the scale of the process, Pradhan acknowledged concerns raised by students and assured them that mistakes, if any, would be corrected.

He said appropriate steps would be taken to improve the process and solve all issues reported by students or parents.

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What is the CBSE OSM system?

The OSM, or On Screen Marking system, is a digital method used to evaluate examination answer sheets. Instead of physically sending answer sheets to examiners, copies are scanned and uploaded digitally.

Teachers then check answer sheets online through a secure system.

CBSE introduced this process to make evaluation faster, more organised and transparent. Officials believe digital checking reduces errors caused by handling physical copies and also improves monitoring.

The system allows better tracking of marking and reduces chances of answer sheets being misplaced.

However, since this was one of the first large-scale uses of the system by CBSE, reports of discrepancies created concern among students.

Many students worried whether technical problems might affect their marks or results.

Some posts circulating online also claimed that the marking system had been hacked or compromised.

This created confusion and fear among parents and students already under stress about examination outcomes.

CBSE rejects hacking claims

CBSE strongly denied reports suggesting that its evaluation platform had been hacked.

The Board clarified that the official system used for marking answer sheets is secure and no breach has been found.

According to CBSE, much of the confusion happened because people mixed up a testing website with the real evaluation platform.

Officials explained that the actual OSM system used for checking answer sheets works on a separate and secure web platform.

The testing environment seen online is not linked to the real evaluation system used for examinations.

CBSE said social media reports wrongly connected the testing site with the official marking portal.

The Board stressed that there is no evidence of hacking or compromise in the actual system used for evaluating answer scripts.

Officials also highlighted that strong security systems are already in place to protect the examination process and student data.

CBSE said its main goal remains fairness, transparency and trust in evaluations.

The Board added that grievance redressal systems are available for students who feel there are problems in marks or evaluation.

Students asked not to panic

Education experts say examination-related rumours often spread quickly online and increase stress among students.

In this case, both CBSE and the Union Education Ministry have asked students not to panic and instead rely on official updates.

Pradhan’s statement was seen as an attempt to reassure students that their concerns matter and that no complaint will be ignored.

He repeated that every answer sheet has been securely preserved and can be reviewed if necessary.

The minister also said improvements would be made to remove any confusion and strengthen trust in the evaluation process.

For students and parents, the message from the government remains clear: concerns will be heard, discrepancies will be checked and no student’s question will go unanswered.