While the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is planning to penalise its on-screen marking (OSM) service provider, Coempt Edu Teck, after issues in the evaluation of Class 12 answer sheets, the board may not be able to blacklist the company because the contract no longer grants it that power.
The Hyderabad-based firm is likely to face financial penalties under provisions laid out in the tender document issued in August 2025, HT has reported. The tender, floated on August 28, prescribed a range of escalating penalties linked to the severity of lapses and the time taken to address them.
However, a corrigendum issued on September 20, 2025, removed key references to “blacklisting” from this tender document before the contract was awarded to Coempt Edu Teck on December 5.
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How has CBSE lost the power to blacklist the company?
The tender of August 2025 included a note stating: "The issue will be put in front of a committee as decided by CBSE. The committee may send a show cause notice for forfeiture for PBG (performance bank guarantee), blacklisting and termination of contract."
{{/usCountry}}The tender of August 2025 included a note stating: "The issue will be put in front of a committee as decided by CBSE. The committee may send a show cause notice for forfeiture for PBG (performance bank guarantee), blacklisting and termination of contract."
{{/usCountry}}The September corrigendum modified the provision to read: "The committee may send show cause notice for forfeiture for PBG and termination of contract."
Another clause in the August tender stated: "If any of the mistakes from 'Other Mistakes' is repeated by bidder, then CBSE reserves the right for forfeiture for Security Deposit, Blacklisting and Termination of contract."
The corrigendum revised the clause by removing the blacklisting provision. The amended version reads: "If any of the mistakes from 'Other Mistakes' is repeated by the bidder, then CBSE reserves the right for forfeiture for Security Deposit and termination of contract."
As a result, while CBSE can still impose financial penalties, forfeit security deposits or terminate the contract, the tender document in its final form does not contain provisions enabling the board to blacklist the company for the alleged lapses.
How will the penalties be imposed?
Under the contract, corrective measures must be taken for each mistake identified, failing which a penalty of ₹1 lakh will be imposed for every 15 minutes of delay beyond the schedule prescribed by CBSE.
Similarly, delays in submitting a root-cause analysis and corrective action plan attract a penalty of ₹1 lakh for every 60 minutes of delay, said the report.
The contract also provides for a penalty of ₹5,000 for every 60 minutes of delay in providing onsite support, onboarding assistance, training manuals, hand-holding documents and user manuals required for the smooth functioning of CBSE operations.
(With inputs from HT's Sanjay Maurya)