New Delhi: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has responded to the growing controversy over CBSE’s On-Screen Marking (OSM) system, stating that he takes full responsibility for the issues and assuring corrective action if any irregularities are found.
Speaking after a review meeting with CBSE officials in Delhi, he urged political leaders not to increase stress among students amid widespread complaints regarding scanned answer sheets and evaluation discrepancies.
“I take responsibility. It will be fixed, a solution will be found. We are all working on that task,” Pradhan said, adding that “no one will be spared” if lapses are confirmed. He also defended the digital evaluation model, calling OSM a “progressive instrument” aimed at transparency and already used globally.
According to him, while 17 lakh students appeared for exams, nearly 98 lakh answer scripts were handled, involving around 40 crore scanned pages.
The controversy has escalated after students reported blurred or incomplete scanned answer sheets, unchecked responses, portal crashes, and payment failures during re-evaluation requests.
CBSE later extended deadlines and assured that genuine grievances would be examined by experts.
The issue has also taken a political turn, with Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi criticising the system. Responding to this, Pradhan accused him of opposing digital initiatives while stressing that student anxiety must not be worsened.
He appealed to all stakeholders to avoid statements that could increase pressure on examinees already facing concerns over results and verification.
