Amid the row over CBSE's on-screen marking portal, 17-year-old student Sarthak Sidhant appeared before a parliamentary panel on Tuesday. As per reports, he was called to give a presentation before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports.
The committee reviewed the use of 'On-Screen Marking' (OSM) in Class 12 CBSE examinations, along with the problems and concerns flagged by students.
Following his presentation, Congress MP Digvijaya Singh, who is chairing the panel, stated that the committee will now wait for a response from CBSE on the same.
"He (Sarthak Sidhant, one of the students affected by the CBSE’s On-Screen Marking (OSM) system) has made his presentation. It is for the committee to decide (on the replies given by the CBSE)," the Congress leader told ANI.
Also Read | CBSE says Class 12 re-evaluation portal hit by 'barrage of cyberattacks'
What can the parliamentary panel do?
The parliamentary panel consists of 21 MPs from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha across various parties.
{{/usCountry}}The parliamentary panel consists of 21 MPs from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha across various parties.
{{/usCountry}}Led by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh, the committee heard the concerns raised for CBSE's on screen marking portal as well as the implementation of the three-language formula in Class 9 and 10.
As per reports, the committee heard views from senior officials, including the Secretary of the Department of School Education under the Ministry of Education (Ministry of Education), and the Chairman of CBSE regarding the ongoing row.
Despite being tasked with hearing the matter, the committee does not possess direct executive or punitive authority to independently penalise CBSE officials, but does hold enough power to demand accountability.
The panel also has the authority to summon the CBSE Chairperson and senior Ministry of Education officials to testify under oath, and can mandate the immediate production of internal board records and files.
Any failure from officials to cooperate or provide accurate evidence can be prosecuted as a Breach of Privilege of Parliament under the rules.
What did Sarthak's blog reveal?
The 17-year-old made headlines after he published his findings after reviewing tender documents on the Central Public Procurement portal. His findings alleged that the Central Board of Secondary Education "rewrote rules" to favour Coempt EduTeck.
Sidhant alleged on his blog that the board modified eligibility and technical requirements across three tender rounds, all of which benefited Coempt EduTeck.
"There were at least 15 discrepancies, as per my blog. I would like to highlight three or four of them. Let me give a background about Coempt. It was known as Globarena, and they have a very shady background. 23 students killed themselves because of coempt," he told news agency ANI.
Also Read | Govt seeks detailed report from CBSE on OSM tender amid row over Class 12 evaluation
He further added that the first discrepancy was the erasure of the poor performance clause.
"The first discrepancy is that there were three clauses of ‘poor performance’ which were completely wiped out from the new RFP. In the earlier RFP, there was a clause called ‘blacklisted earlier’ whereas in the new RFP, it was changed to ‘blacklisted currently’. Why would the board want a service provider which was blacklisted earlier?" he said.
A Hindustan Times investigation also revealed the technical changes between the tender rounds.
Sidhant's blog also grabbed the attention of the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, who has been vocal about the discrepancies in the process.
“[Sidhant] has revealed the hollowness of (education minister) Dharmendra Pradhan ji’s denials. The PM remains silent, as usual. The question is simple: who are they protecting, and why? An independent judicial inquiry is now essential to uncover the full extent of this scam,” Gandhi wrote on X.