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CBSE OSM glitches: SC closes plea, says revaluation will open ‘Pandora’s Box’
The plea sought a regulatory framework for exams through the OSM system and the constitution of a panel to supervise its implementation
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The Supreme Court on Tuesday closed a petition over glitches in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)’s On Screen Marking (OSM) system for Class 12, observing that permitting revaluation at this stage would open a Pandora’s Box.
Lawyer Rakesh Binjola moved the court, saying that the glitches led to discrepancies in the results of tens of thousands of students.
A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said, “Why should we direct the CBSE to open the [revaluation] window for you? Today your merit has been revised. But tomorrow, there will be lakhs of candidates whose merit will be revised.”
The court last week asked the government and CBSE to file a response on a permanent mechanism to deal with the OSM glitches and whether the one-week window for students seeking revaluation could be reopened.
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta reiterated that the admission process to colleges is over and reopening the window at this stage will lead to more problems. He informed the court that when the revaluation window was provided, 168,000 students applied. He pointed out that the petitioner missed the bus and cannot now seek any relief.
The bench told Binjola that these are hard cases. “But we cannot upset the entire system. It is your bad luck. What can we do?”
Binjola’s lawyer, Lakshmikant Shukla, told the court that this is not limited to the petitioner alone, as tens of thousands of students could not avail of the window. He added that the system was crashing during the period and there are more students than the 168,000 that the CBSE cited.
The bench sought proof that the system crashed. Mehta pointed out that the Delhi high court examined the issue and dismissed the petition on June 12. Three days later, the plea was filed in the Supreme Court.
The bench said, “If you miss the bus, you miss the bus. Nothing can be done.” It added that they are satisfied that a direction to reopen the window for revaluation cannot be granted as the results of admission tests are over.
The petition sought a regulatory framework for CBSE examinations through the OSM system and the constitution of a high-powered committee to supervise its implementation. It pleaded for relaxation of minimum qualifying marks for students who secured provisional admissions or cleared entrance examinations. The plea said that alleged flaws in the evaluation process adversely affected scores.
The government formed a one-member committee to look into the glitches and transferred then CBSE chairperson Rahul Singh. It repatriated CBSE secretary Himanshu Gupta to his parent cadre. HT reported that the contract for the OSM system was awarded to Coempt Edu Teck just 74 days before the Class 12 examinations, following multiple tender modifications during the procurement process.
