Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi has once again slammed the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for awarding the contract for on-screen marking (OSM) system to COEMPT EduTeck Pvt. Ltd. Gandhi has alleged that the national education board called for OSM tenders thrice, and no company qualified for the first and second time, after which CBSE lowered the technical bar which helped COEMPT win the bid.
"Read this story carefully. CBSE called for OSM tenders thrice. Zero bids the first time. No qualified bidder the second time. And finally, the technical bar was lowered until COEMPT could clear it," Gandhi tweeted "Scanning resolution cut. Robotic scanner requirement dropped. CMMI certification lowered from Level 5 to Level 3. Penalties for errors in answer sheets removed."
He also alleged that even thought the famous IT services company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) had qualified in the third round, the company lost toCOEMPT. "TCS, India’s biggest IT services company, qualified in the third round too. TCS lost. COEMPT - a company with a spectacular track record of failure - won," he alleged in his tweet.
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His accusation comes a few hours after a report stated thatCBSE floatedthree tenders before selecting a vendor, with key technical requirements progressively relaxed to attract bidders. The report also stated that despite warnings from teachers and internal recommendations for a phased rollout, the system was deployed under tight timelines for Class 12 board exams.
"Teachers had warned CBSE that the OSM system needed at least a year or two for further preparation before nationwide implementation, yet it was rushed through,"Gandhi alleged. "So I ask again - who wanted COEMPT to win? Who lowered the bar, step by step, until this company could clear it?"
He also questioned Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on claiming that 'due process was followed'. "That is not an answer, that is not accountability. The question is whether the contract was honestly awarded to the best company which could do the job correctly," Gandhi questioned.
Rahul Gandhi also hit back at the BJP minister such as Rekha Gupta, Kiren Rijiju, and Bhajanlal Sharma, and others for claiming that the Congress government too had appointed the same Hyderabad-based company for several contracts. Reacting to BJP ministers' tweets from May 28, Gandhi said, "To theBJP Ministers attacking mefor asking questions - I have, from day one, demanded an independent judicial probe. Expand it from CBSE to every contract awarded to COEMPT. Our youth deserve the truth."
Meanwhile, sources have claimed thatCBSE will levy financial penaltyon the COEMPT Edutech Private Limited, as thousands of blurred answer book scans and multiple cases of mismatched answer sheets were found during the class 12 board evaluation process.
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