- 1 day ago
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) faces scrutiny over its Class 12 on-screen marking system following reports of significant evaluation discrepancies.
Category
ЁЯЧЮ
NewsTranscript
00:00Good evening, you're watching News Today at 9pm. I'm Preeti Chaudhary.
00:03Our big talking points this evening, CBSC online marking mess should government order a probe.
00:10Did CBSC favour Co-Emp Edutake? Should it take questions, come clean?
00:15How can CBSC ensure justice to students?
00:17All of that discussed over the course of the next 45 minutes.
00:20Allow me to take you through the headlines first.
00:27CBSC re-evaluation portal, which was supposed to be launched from today, is yet to go live due to tech
00:33glitches.
00:34Parliamentary panel on education to now review use of on-screen marking and issues faced by students.
00:44Political war rages on over CBSC mess.
00:47LOP Rahul Gandhi has accused CBSC for charging money from students and profiting from its own mistakes.
00:53BJP hits back Rahul for politicising students' future.
01:00Commercial LPG prices hiked once again. Rates increased from 42 to Rs. 53.50 per cylinder across India.
01:09Government-side supply chain disruptions caused by tensions in West Asia.
01:16Raw over Bengal, LOP endorsement letter, two TMC MLAs expelled after they claimed that their signatures were forged.
01:24Probe launched by COP CID once again summons Abhishek Banerjee, asks him to appear on June 8th.
01:33XTN BJP chief Anna Malai in Delhi amidst new party launch buzz says we'll clear the air in two days.
01:40This comes after posters with his face emerge in Coimbatore, which says fearless minds have no limits.
01:49Tamil Nadu chief minister, Vijay, holds mega Thanksgiving rally in Trichy, says TN chose their brother not to become CM
01:56but to serve them.
01:57Also lashes out at AIA, DMK and DMK for plotting to keep them out of power.
02:07Ahead of forth taking ceremony in Bengaluru, DKS and Siddharamaya in Delhi to finalise new cabinet.
02:13Meet with high command was scheduled today but is now being postponed.
02:17Key meet now likely to take place tomorrow.
02:22In a big boost for the Air Force, India issues letter of request for France for 114 Rafale jets worth
02:293.25 lakh crore.
02:31Out of this, 90 jets to be made in India.
02:36And broadcaster for the upcoming 2026 FIFA is finalised.
02:41Z Entertainment secures broadcast rights for the marquee tournament.
02:45Matches will be telecast on their newly launched sports channel, Z5.
03:02All right, we have the latest news break coming in.
03:04CBSC was to put out its re-evaluation portal.
03:08Launch it today at 2pm to address grievances.
03:11Well, it hasn't quite happened and it's 9pm at night.
03:15The relaunch apparently delayed due to technical glitches.
03:20Earlier, the CBC had posted on the social media platform X saying their students' verification and re-evaluation portal will
03:28go live soon.
03:29Official announcement to follow.
03:30The Parliamentary Committee meeting tomorrow to review use of on-screen marking in Grade 12 CBSC examinations and issues faced
03:40by students consequently.
03:43And the latest right now is, viewers, at 2pm this afternoon, the CBSC had to launch a re-evaluation portal.
03:51But the website hasn't been upped because of, lo and behold, technical glitches.
03:56I want to cut across right now to my colleague, Anmol Bali, who's joining us live with the latest Anmol.
04:022pm was the time when this re-evaluation portal was to be launched by the CBSC to address all possible
04:08grievances.
04:09But it's 9pm, the portal hasn't been launched.
04:12The CBSC, which one would think is rather shameful, is saying it hasn't been upped because of technical glitches.
04:25Preeti, this is not the very first time that we are seeing technical glitches because of that students are facing
04:30problems.
04:31Earlier also, we have seen that post-result, a portal was open for the students to access their scanned answer
04:36sheets.
04:36And many of the students have faced glitches and technical problems while they were trying to get their answer sheets,
04:42while they were trying to submit the payment.
04:44And now, after that, it was seen that CBSC said that post-result, again, the portal will be opened around
04:4929th of May.
04:50Then it was scheduled for the June 1.
04:52But today also, CBSC has failed to open their portal, post-result portal.
04:58In fact, if I'll show you the current status of the portal, I have just opened the CBSC website and
05:02I'll show you here.
05:03You can clearly see, written here, site under updation and will be available soon.
05:08So, students across India, lakhs of students, those who want to file their guvanses, those who want to know their
05:15answer, those who want to know why their number was detected, why their marks were detected, are still waiting CBSC
05:21to relaunch, to open their website.
05:23But still, CBSC hasn't figured out what's the problem because recently, I've seen that Education Minister Draminder Pradhan has also
05:29robbed in people from IIT, Kanpur, as well as from IIT Madras.
05:33But still, CBSC is not figuring out what is the problem.
05:37And tomorrow, we can see that a parliamentary committee of 31 member of parliament of the education under the Digvijay
05:43Singh will be calling Sanjay Kumar from the Education Ministry and other offices from the CBSC.
05:49And various other people, those who are related to CBSC OSM system will be called and they will be asked
05:55question that why this new system was introduced, which has now become a pawn for CBSC Education Ministry as well
06:02as BJP.
06:03Priti.
06:04Thank you for joining us.
06:05Nearly 18 and a half lakh students, to be precise, looking for this re-evaluation portal to be launched.
06:11And it was, at least what we've been given to understand, was to be launched at about 2 p.m.
06:16And what is rather shameful right now, viewers, is that it is 9 p.m. at night and the reason
06:21is a technical glitch.
06:22But, you know, to get our viewers an understanding of the larger story, it's not just the CBSC OSM, on
06:30-screen marking system, which is right now under controversy.
06:34And why?
06:35We'll delve into that later.
06:36It's been NEAT.
06:37It's been CBSC.
06:38It's been CEUT.
06:39From the NEAT paper leak controversy to CBSC marking row, India's examination system is facing very tough questions.
06:47Now, a Class 12 student's investigation, yes, a student's investigation from Class 12 into the company behind CBSC's on-screen
06:56marking platform has triggered a massive controversy and a political storm.
07:02With Rahul Gandhi now demanding answers and the tender process itself coming under scrutiny.
07:08My colleague Anmol filed this report.
07:15India's exam system is failing its students.
07:19First, the all-India medical entrance NEAT, conducted by the National Testing Agency, was cancelled after question paper leak.
07:29Now, the CBSC is under fire for lapses in the Class 12 evaluation process.
07:36After the controversy surrounding the on-screen marking introduced by CBSC for Class 12 board exams, damaging revelations have put
07:45the spotlight on the company that backed the contract for providing the software for evaluation.
07:51At the heart of the storm is Coemd EduTech, the firm that won the bid.
07:57A Class 12 student, Sartak Siddhant has flagged several alleged irregularities in the tender process.
08:05Armed with documents, Sartak pointed to a series of changes made before the contract was awarded.
08:13My basic claim is that the Central Board of Secondary Education, CBSC, rewrote the rules to favour Coemd EduTech.
08:20Why did CBSC take three times to finalise a vendor?
08:26Among the changes under scrutiny is a clause that disqualified firms for post-past performance that was removed entirely.
08:36Blacklisting norms were also relaxed.
08:38Earlier, any past blacklisting could disqualify a bidder.
08:42The final tender barred only firms that were currently blacklisted.
08:47The software capability benchmark was lowered from level 5 to level 3, a change critics' claim made Coemd eligible.
08:55And another requirement disappeared altogether.
08:59Bidders were no longer required to own the source code of their software.
09:05The issue soon turned political.
09:08Leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi amplified the allegations, asking a pointed question.
09:13Who wanted Coemd to win?
09:19He also met Class 12 students, including Vedant, who first raised questions about his misplaced answer sheets.
09:27The second is over-centralisation.
09:30So you've taken the whole system and you've centralised the whole system.
09:32So if there's a problem, it's a critical failure of the system.
09:37The controversy has also revived scrutiny of Coemd's earlier avatar, Globarena Technologies, linked to the 2019 Telangana exam, Rao.
09:47The company faced questions after discrepancies in results.
09:52Over 3 lakh students were initially marked failed.
09:56Several technical and administrative lapses were alleged.
10:0023 students allegedly died by suicide following the mishandling of the exam results.
10:07However, courts later found no wrongdoing by the company.
10:12The CBSC has strongly rejected allegations that it favoured Coemd.
10:19It says the contract was awarded through a transparent process.
10:24No rules were bent and Coemd met all technical and financial criteria.
10:31Meanwhile, Parliament's Standing Committee on Education, headed by Congress MP Digvijay Singh, met on Monday.
10:37Sources tell India today, opposition MPs sought answers from the NTA chief on need to paper leak.
10:44They questioned the NTA over reports that the Indian Air Force could be roped in for the transportation of question
10:51papers for the retest planned on June 21st.
10:55NTA and CBSC countries' premier institutions in the field of education are now under the scanner.
11:02But will anyone be held accountable or will it be business as usual?
11:07Here are a report, India Today.
11:13All right, viewers, before we cut across to our political panellists and our guests this evening,
11:18there are certain questions that we pose.
11:20Was the CBSC in prepared for online market?
11:24Did the CBSC favour Coemd Edutech?
11:28And should the government order an investigation immediately on the CBSC picking a particular firm through the basis of tender?
11:37Were rules changed?
11:38Seemingly there were, where the tender was concerned.
11:42How can CBSC ensure justice to young students?
11:46I want to cut across now to Dr. Jyoti Gupta, Director, Principal, an expert member governing body, CBSC member, Standing
11:55Committee, NCTE City Coordinator, CBSC.
11:58I'm also joined by young students this evening, Argym Jain, CBSC Class 12 student, Ananya Sharma, Bhavan Vidhalaya, Chandigarh CBSC
12:08student, Arjun Sharma, CBSC student, 12th class.
12:12Arjun was also one of the students today who met Rahul Gandhi.
12:15I'd like to begin right now with Argym Jain.
12:19Argym Jain, you've given, you gave your Class 12 CBSC examination.
12:24You felt at least, or you have seen the full scale of the rollout of OSM on-screen marking system.
12:30Are you happy with the results?
12:33Did you find any discrepancies?
12:35What was your own lived experience of this?
12:38No, I totally disagree with OSM system.
12:42What happened?
12:43Can you take us through?
12:44Because, can you take us through your experience?
12:47Your voice is not audible.
12:48Can you hear me, Argym?
12:50All right, we're going to come back to Argym.
12:52Let's bring in Ananya Sharma.
12:54Ananya, you're also a Class 12 student.
12:56You gave your CBSC examination.
12:58You also felt and experienced the full rollout of the on-screen marking system.
13:03What was your experience with it?
13:06Honestly, for myself, I did not really face any discrepancies in my marks.
13:11I got around the same amount of marks that I had expected.
13:15Moreover, I have spoken to a few people.
13:17A few close relatives of mine were involved in the checking process.
13:21And according to them, it was a fair process.
13:23And even I feel so, because my marks were around the range I had expected.
13:27So, you were happy with the OSM system.
13:29You had no problems.
13:30And you're saying that it worked out in your favor.
13:33You don't see any discrepancy.
13:35No, I think that CBSC needs to do its homework.
13:38But then again, OSM system also offers accountability and transparency.
13:42So, that is a plus point of the OSM system.
13:45CBSC needs to do some homework.
13:47But again...
13:48So, Ananya, no discrepancy between what you wrote and the marks that were awarded.
13:53I was expecting around 96-97%.
13:56I had to settle for 95.4%.
13:58But then again, some mistakes happen.
14:02And I cannot really question the system for a few mistakes or a few marks.
14:06Okay.
14:06Fair point.
14:07Let's bring in Argam Jain back into this conversation.
14:09Argam, if you can hear me now.
14:11You don't...
14:11Do we have Argam?
14:14Okay.
14:14Argam, I believe you don't, like you said, agree with the on-screen marking system.
14:19You said there was a discrepancy in what you wrote and the marks that were awarded.
14:24Yes, ma'am.
14:25Ma'am, in English exam I expected around 90 plus marks.
14:28But I really got 33 out of 80.
14:31Which is very low than I expected.
14:36All right.
14:37So, you don't agree with the...
14:38Yes.
14:39Then I applied for a scan sheet.
14:41When I find a scan sheet, it was totally...
14:45It was totally embarrassed.
14:47It was totally?
14:49It was totally mischecked.
14:52You saw a complete mischeck of it.
14:55What were the issues?
14:56Ma'am, questions are mostly unchecked.
14:59Questions were?
15:01Questions are mostly unchecked.
15:03Mostly half of the sheet is unchecked.
15:05You're saying half of your paper was completely unchecked.
15:08Ma'am, may I show you the sheet?
15:10Yes, please.
15:12Okay, I'm waiting.
15:13All right.
15:14You do that.
15:14I'm coming right back to you, Argam.
15:16You know, you get the sheet and we'll come right back to you.
15:19I want to go across to Arjun Sharma as well.
15:21Arjun, you know, you had some issues clearly.
15:24You were also a part of the student group that met the leader of opposition today.
15:28What exactly has been the issue, Arjun, where you have faced issues with the OSM system?
15:37Got it.
15:37So, Ma'am, basically I'm Arjun.
15:39First of all, I would like to say I am more like a concerned citizen or a concerned gen Z,
15:45you can say.
15:45I'm not exactly directly affected by this issue, but I am raising voice for all those students of class 12
15:52who are affected by the collapse of this education system.
15:55I am basically founder of a community of students that's called Jain Azad.
15:59We have already hosted two protests till now, like one of the seven students in the New Delhi and another
16:05one a few days ago in Ghazabad.
16:07So, basically, I'm speaking for all of my friends who are affected by this education system because I know how
16:14OSM system has failed.
16:16And we can clearly see it in the blurred sheets that the students have got their questions missing.
16:22And many students haven't got even their sheet till now.
16:26All right.
16:27So, what is it that you've noticed?
16:28So, you completely believe that the OSM system genuinely impacted the quality of evaluation.
16:34That is what your understanding has been, Arjun, keeping in mind with the students that you've spoken with.
16:39What is the scale of this?
16:40How many students are there?
16:43In the community, Ma'am?
16:44Yes.
16:45Ma'am, we have to, basically, I have an Instagram and an X page.
16:48In that, we have a community of about 300 to 400 followers on both the pages.
16:53And other than that, we have a Discord server by the name of Students Union of India that has around
16:591,000 students in it.
17:02In terms of what were the complaints that you got, what are the number of complaints that you have, Arjun?
17:07Where they said that their papers didn't quite match what they wrote or there were discrepancies in terms of the
17:12blurred images?
17:15There were discrepancies on various fronts, Ma'am.
17:18If we see, like, if you have attempted the 24th question.
17:21And then, after that, in many sheets, there was directly the 26th question.
17:25The 25th question in between was totally missing.
17:28Other than that, we could also see that the sheets were scanned in a haste.
17:32Like, the sheets weren't scanned properly.
17:35Those were blurred.
17:36And now, when the sheets were blurred at the first point, so how could even the teacher check it when
17:42they must have got it?
17:43So, it's obvious that the OSN system failed because students can't even calculate their own marks.
17:51Many of the students can't even calculate their own marks on their sheets because of the blurred copies.
17:57Because the images are so blurred.
17:59Yes, because the images are so blurred.
18:02The pages are missing.
18:03And even if we...
18:04And this was your feedback to the leader of opposition, Arjun, because that is what I think Rahul Gandhi has
18:10also posted on social media.
18:12Correct?
18:12So, this was the feedback of all you kids who went to meet him.
18:16Yes, Ma'am.
18:17It was majorly this.
18:18Other than that, the marking was also incorrect.
18:21But that's a separate question that happens every year.
18:24So, yeah.
18:25The special thing that happened this year with the OSN system was,
18:28that we can see that the scanning wasn't done properly.
18:31After that, the portal didn't work on time.
18:34Like when there was the period during which you had to get the scanned copies.
18:40During that period, you could see that the CBC was continuously extending the date.
18:44And even till now, when the time frame in which the students were supposed to get their copies has ended,
18:50even now many students haven't got their copies.
18:52So, like how, even if, are they going to apply for the re-evaluation of their marks,
18:58even, haven't even got their copies.
19:01So, you're saying many students still haven't got their copies.
19:03Okay.
19:03Yes, Ma'am.
19:04So, Aargam, who is with us, has got his copy.
19:06And Aargam, you wanted to show us the discrepancies in the paper that you received and what you wrote.
19:13Can you show it to us?
19:14Yes, Ma'am.
19:16Okay.
19:17So, that's Aargam.
19:18Aargam, you can talk us through it because he's turned the camera back onto his screen
19:22and he's showing us the issues which were wrong with his examination paper.
19:27Aargam, talk us through this.
19:29What's wrong with it?
19:30Ma'am, here you can see I started my question paper from seventh question.
19:34Okay.
19:36Yes.
19:36And here the question was done according to first question.
19:41First question, second.
19:43Remember, this is seventh.
19:45Yeah.
19:45So, you attempted, and correct me if I'm wrong, you attempted the seventh question.
19:50You've written the answer for the seventh question and you've been marked as per what was the first question.
19:56Correct?
19:57And yes, first question has 10 path and all part is of one marks.
20:01And they've given you just one mark for that.
20:04Yes, Ma'am.
20:05Ma'am, all the options are correct of what I've written.
20:08Okay.
20:09To eighth question.
20:11Ma'am, eighth question.
20:17Yes, Aargam.
20:18So, tell us, talk us through it.
20:19Eighth question.
20:21You attempted the eighth question.
20:23And you've been again marked for the first question.
20:24Then the marking was done according to first question of seventh part.
20:28Remember, this is eighth question.
20:31Okay.
20:31So, you attempted eighth question.
20:34And your marking was once again done for question one, seventh part of the first question.
20:39Correct?
20:40Ma'am, these three questions are unchecked.
20:42All these three questions are unchecked.
20:44Now, what are these questions are a part of clearly one question.
20:47What was the question?
20:49Ma'am, this is off literature part.
20:52Question number?
20:54I am question number B.
20:56Question number 10th, fourth part.
21:00And you're saying they're unchecked.
21:01There is a red seal right there.
21:03What does that red marking say?
21:06Ma'am, this is a question too.
21:07But this is a tenth question of a fourth part.
21:11So, they have marked that, you're saying?
21:14Yes, ma'am.
21:16And they haven't marked the other parts of that same question?
21:19Yes, ma'am.
21:20Ma'am, mainly, they wait, ma'am.
21:24Ma'am, this is a thirteenth question.
21:26This is also unchecked.
21:28This is unchecked as in, it's got a green tick to it.
21:31But they haven't marked you for it, you're saying?
21:33Correct?
21:34But no give marks.
21:36They have not given marks.
21:37Okay, they don't give their marks, you're saying?
21:39Yes, ma'am.
21:43And this is letter, they just give 0, 0, 0.
21:48This is the rest of it and they've marked you 0.
21:51But these questions have been marked correctly?
21:52This is fifth question, but they checked according to seventh question.
21:56Seventh question has a five part and all part contained one-one marks.
22:00And you have attempted question number?
22:03Yes, ma'am.
22:04Question number five, they have marked you for seventh question.
22:07Yes, ma'am.
22:08Ma'am, but this is fifth question letter.
22:11This is all five marks.
22:14Okay, and they have marked you thinking it is question seven, right?
22:19Ma'am, seventh question has a fifth part and all part contained one-one marks.
22:25Okay.
22:26Ma'am, it is clearly one marks, they can't give it to anyone in any question.
22:33Okay, and?
22:35Ma'am, these two pages are unchecked.
22:38Can you zoom in?
22:41They have made some...
22:43Ma'am, they just put an I option.
22:46What does that I option mean?
22:49Ma'am, mainly seen.
22:52And they have not marked it?
22:54Yes, ma'am.
22:55Ma'am, this also.
22:58Okay, so they neither have given you zero nor have they...
23:01I'm just like this.
23:03Sorry?
23:04What are you saying?
23:05I'm just...
23:05They ignored this.
23:07They ignored it, you're saying?
23:09Yes, ma'am.
23:10Ma'am, and these two contain 20 marks.
23:13This was 10 to 20 marks, that's what you're saying.
23:16Yes, ma'am.
23:17Ma'am, this is of 12 marks.
23:18This is of 10 marks.
23:21Okay.
23:22I want to bring in Dr. Jyoti Gupta.
23:24Aargam, you can turn the camera back to yourself.
23:26I want to bring in Dr. Jyoti Gupta.
23:28Dr. Jyoti Gupta, you know, we've seen...
23:30We've heard so much.
23:31And on now live television, you've had Aargam
23:33take us through his entire mark sheet.
23:35Clearly, there is a huge issue in the OSM system in the manner in which it was done.
23:41And it's right here on our television screen.
23:42You had a young child, a young kid, a student, who's actually taken us through question by question.
24:14So, you're right here.
24:17It happens every year.
24:19When the teachers are checking, see, CBSC does not have the paraphernalia of the evaluators within itself.
24:27It is through the schools, it is through the teachers who are teaching, you know, the 11th and 12th, who
24:33are the PGTs.
24:34They are taken as evaluators.
24:37Every school has to fill in the data of every teacher on the OASIS portal.
24:42From there, the teachers are selected as per their experience, etc.
24:47And they are asked to do the evaluation.
24:51Dr. Gupta, you know, if one really looks at an international...
24:54Let me just tell you.
24:55Let me just tell you.
24:57Take you through the process.
24:58So, every year we come across the papers which have been evaluated by the teachers,
25:04where the teachers do make the mistakes.
25:06But here, I would, you know, tell the children that the papers are with CBSC.
25:13All the...
25:13These are the scanned papers.
25:15But the actual copies are also with CBSC.
25:18So, once they apply for the re-evaluation, not one, but two evaluators will be checking their copies.
25:25And they will get the marks that they deserve.
25:28So, it has always happened.
25:29Earlier, the re-evaluation was not done.
25:32About 10 to 12 years back, the process of re-evaluation was started, where the paper could be checked again.
25:40Earlier, it was only re-evaluation.
25:41But, Dr. Jyoti Gupta, the question is not so much on the evaluators.
25:44It's on the way of evaluating, which is the on-screen marking system.
25:47And there are two trains of thought on it.
25:49One seems to...
25:50The on-screen marking system, Dr. Gupta.
25:53And one train of thought is that no country actually really follows the OSM system.
25:57You know, if you look across, Singapore doesn't follow it.
26:01None of the European nations follow it.
26:03But if we need to adopt a system like the OSM, you know, the other thought is that we needed
26:09to roll it out in a phased manner
26:11and not maybe subject the senior classes like class 12th and class 10th, where you have board examinations, to the
26:18OSM system.
26:19You know, roll it out for class 1 to class 5, then strengthen the process, and then include the other
26:25classes.
26:26So, this is not the first time that OSM has been brought in.
26:30The first time that the OSM was brought in is 2014, if I'm correct.
26:36That is the time when we did a pilot with about 5 lakh copies.
26:41Then in 2015 and 2016, where about 30 lakh copies were evaluated.
26:47So, this is not the first time.
26:48In between, that was stopped because the copies had to be cut to be scanned.
26:53The system of scanning the entire booklet was not there.
26:58This time, the copies have not been tampered.
27:00You can see from the scanned copies that there are also the marks of the staples.
27:06So, the, you know, the scanning was done just by, you know, flipping the pages and the scanners, the heavy
27:14-duty scanners were scanning the papers.
27:16Whenever the blurred copy came to us as evaluators, because I was a part of the pilot project also, I
27:23was a part of all the trainings, and I was the CNS as well, where about 14, 15 subjects got
27:30evaluated under me.
27:31So, whenever there was a blurred copy, the evaluators had to reject it.
27:37And when it was rejected, that means it had to be scanned again.
27:41In case that was not scannable, there are 13,000 copies that were checked manually.
27:48So, Dr. Gupta, because I'm running short of time, a pilot that clearly seemed to have failed in 2016.
27:53Because, like you said, then why did we discontinue it?
27:58It did not fail. It did not fail.
27:59Why did we discontinue it?
28:01So, that was a pilot. That was when I'm talking about 2016, 2017.
28:07Then COVID also came in. Where were the exams after that?
28:11So, after that, when they were building the technology, there's a lot of difference between the pre-COVID technology and
28:17the technology now.
28:19And going forward, this technology is only going to be strengthened.
28:23Okay. But the deliberation, Dr. Gupta, today is going forward.
28:29But, Dr. Gupta, I think the operative word is in your answer itself, going forward.
28:34And the fact is, there are students who have suffered at the back of, you know, this complete rollout of
28:41the OSM on-screen marking system,
28:43where you've had so many cases.
28:45The CBSE is trying its best.
28:48It will give them a fair, what do I say, evaluation and the fair amount.
28:54But, madam, right now, their best doesn't, their best isn't good enough.
28:57Their best isn't good enough and a lot of parentsтАж
29:00The panel of yours is probably, you know, tell, plead with these children to have the patience and tell the
29:08authorities toтАж
29:09You know, ma'am, you know, can I tell you, Dr. Gupta, the fact is, sometimes, you know, the students
29:15have had enough.
29:16They've had too much patience, some would say.
29:18And these are questions the CBSE now needs to answer on multiple levels.
29:23I just, ma'am, it's not an argument between you and I.
29:25I think where patience is concerned, now questions need to be answered.
29:29But I just need toтАж
29:30Okay, Arjun, you want to come in very quickly.
29:31I need to go to our panelists.
29:33Go ahead, make your point.
29:34Yes, ma'am, I just want to ask Jyoti, ma'am, one thing.
29:37She just said, I guess, that the blurred copies were rejected.
29:40And they were manually checked in the case that if they wereтАж
29:43If the copies were scanned blur.
29:45But here, I do not have the name.
29:48AndтАж
29:48But if I show you on my mobile, this is a copy that I have of a student that's clearly
29:53blurred.
29:54And it was checked too.
29:55That means those copies reach the students.
29:57These three evaluators.
29:59So there have been a lot of gaps.
30:01There have been a lot of loopholes.
30:02And the CBSE has messed up, ma'am.
30:04One can say, have patience.
30:06The CBSE is doing its best.
30:07No, the CBSE is not doing its best.
30:09The CBSE now needs to come and answer questions.
30:12I want to just go back.
30:13Ma'am, you know, allow me to just go back to the kids once again.
30:16Because there are kids in this panel who say, like Ananya says, she trusts the system.
30:20Just by a show of hands between the three of you, how many of you trust the OSM system?
30:27Okay, so there's one is to two.
30:29You trust?
30:31Okay, who allтАж
30:33I don'tтАж
30:33Argam, do you trust the OSM on-screen marking system?
30:36Do you trust it on that?
30:39No, ma'am.
30:40If it's not, then don't do it.
30:42All right.
30:43So, it's a two is two one.
30:47And Dr. Gupta, I think just by the virtue of this small sample sizeтАж
30:51тАжis a good way to go ahead.
30:53Instead of copies being transported from one place to another, the totalling being done by hand, the problem of posting
31:03the wrong marks, etc., all manual mistakes will be done away with.
31:08But Dr. Gupta, all of this should have been done away with before these kids had their papers in their
31:13hands, madam.
31:14All of this should have been done away with.
31:15And today, the CBSE, I am so sorry, as strong as an institution the CBSE is, the CBSE has itself
31:22some tough questions to answer.
31:23But we should be happy that the papers are there with CBSE, they are not lost.
31:26Ma'am, the fact is, I think that's a sorry excuse to say the papers are there with the CBSE.
31:33The CBSE has let the students down over 18 lakhs and the CBSE needs to take some responsibility and answer
31:41some questions.
31:42We are going to leave it at that, ma'am.
31:43It's not an argument between you and I.
31:44The kids have to, you know, like you said, that they need to have patience.
31:48No, I think they've run out of patience.
31:49Let's cut across right now to our political face-off this evening.
31:51Sanju Verma, National Spokesperson BJP.
31:54Saral Patel, National Spokesperson Congress.
31:56Welcome to the show.
31:57Appreciate the patience, the both of you.
31:59We had some kids on our show as well as an educationist.
32:02I want to begin with you, Sanju Verma.
32:04These are tough questions today that the CBSE needs to answer and not just the CBSE.
32:09Even the Education Ministry needs to answer.
32:11Number one, let's begin with the firm that was given the contract.
32:17Clearly, to get the tender, rules and regulations were bent.
32:20They were changed.
32:22And I'm not saying it.
32:23So, you can train, you know, your guns on me.
32:25It's a student who has actually done this investigation.
32:28So, there are loopholes there.
32:30And if these changes were made in the tendering process system, why were they made?
32:36Were they made to make the administrative process simple?
32:39And if not, then were they made to benefit the particular firm that we are speaking of, Coempt EduTech?
32:48You know, Preeti, good-humouredly, I'm scared to train my guns on you ever, more so today.
32:55But let me come straight to the point.
32:58You know, I was listening to a very, very engaging discussion.
33:01And thank you so much for getting those students on board, because it's always important to listen to, you know,
33:06Gen Alpha.
33:07However, I want to make a couple of points here.
33:10Did the CBSE issue and reissue the tender?
33:15Yes.
33:16Was the RFP changed thrice?
33:18Yes.
33:19Was the eligibility and technical criteria relaxed progressively?
33:24Yes.
33:25Was the CMMI level threshold reoriented?
33:30Yes.
33:31Yes.
33:32And also, work classes diluted with respect to performance?
33:38Yes.
33:40But, despite saying yes to all of these questions that I have asked, and I can say I have asked
33:46on behalf of a very sane audience, which believes that merit should thrive when it comes to our children.
33:52The point is, re-tendering thrice or four times, progressively relaxing the CMMI criteria.
34:01In all of this, it does not still prove, I repeat, it does not still prove that Globarina, or the
34:11new name for Globarina, which is Coent, EduTech Private Limited, was given comparative advantage.
34:19So, for Rahul Gandhi and the Darbari ecosystem to say that tender process was reoriented to give comparative advantage to
34:29a certain company, I say that is balderdash.
34:33That is a whole lot of hogwash.
34:34Having said that, and having listened to enlightened students on your show, do I stand with a whistleblower like Sarthak
34:42Siddhant?
34:43Do I stand with a whistleblower like Nisad Adhikari?
34:47Or a whistleblower like Vedant Srivastava?
34:50Oh, most certainly yes, because they are our future.
34:52They have the right to ask questions.
34:54But at the same time, let's not try to throw the baby along with the bathwater.
34:59Because without being worked on, I'll say two things.
35:03When we look at a system, Preeti, there are two things that we need to look at.
35:07A, the intent, and B, the policy apparatus.
35:12Is the intent in having an on-screen marking for CBSE the right thing?
35:19Numerous stakeholders connected to the education, you know, ecosystem have said,
35:26Within the policy apparatus, I agree, we can argue.
35:29Okay.
35:30If there was a zonal rollout in 2016, why was that discontinued?
35:34And then again, restarted.
35:36Should we have again...
35:37Okay.
35:38All right, you know, I'll come...
35:39Okay, I want to bring in the Congress spokesperson.
35:41But, you know, Sanju Verma, you addressed quite a few points.
35:44And you said, does it make it liable that the Coempt EduTech, the firm, was given, you know, favorably, was
35:53given the contract?
35:54There are some questions that needs to be posed on that as well.
35:57Why is the CBSE silent on why eligibility criteria was changed during the tendering process, ma'am?
36:02The CBSE is silent.
36:04You yourself agreed that the tendering process was changed.
36:06At least it seems to suggest that it was changed so one particular firm could enter.
36:12Was it the firm that we are speaking of?
36:16That's the question, ma'am, which the CBSE needs to answer.
36:19Right?
36:19I want to bring in...
36:20That's a great question.
36:21But ma'am, I'll come back to you.
36:22The CBSE needs to answer it.
36:24Right?
36:25I want to bring in Saral Patel, national spokesperson, Congress.
36:29Saral, to bring you in on this conversation, you've had Rahul Gandhi,
36:32you had possibly every leader of the opposition go after the government and the education minister.
36:36Are you looking at a very simplistic solution in terms of a sacking which is a larger issue,
36:41which hasn't just plagued this government, it's plagued your government in the past,
36:44where you've seen repeated paper leaks?
36:47Even when you were in the centre, when you were in the state,
36:50you can go as far back of losing an election in Rajasthan at the back of it.
36:54Preeti, good evening to you, to your viewers, and to my fellow panelists, Sanju Bhavmachi.
36:59Let us first understand that this is not just about technical glitch, but this is a governance glitch.
37:06My friend Sanju Varmaji spoke about how the intent should be looked at.
37:12So if the intent is being looked at, then the competence should also be looked at.
37:17That has the intent fruitified into this because of the incompetence of the government.
37:23So this is not about, you know, one examination.
37:27It is about whether India's student can still trust India's institution.
37:33Because every year, millions of young Indians spend years and years preparing for competitive exams.
37:39Their parents take loans, spend their life saving and make enormous sacrifices,
37:44believing that the hard work and merit will be rewarded.
37:47But what happens? Paper leak after paper leak.
37:50In last 10 years alone, India has witnessed 839 examination paper leak.
37:56So this is not a one-off thing.
37:58This is BJP's governance model speaking for itself.
38:0248 exams had to be reconducted.
38:05Nearly 1.4 crore candidates have been affected.
38:08So this is clearly a pattern.
38:10This cannot be brushed off as a one-off thing.
38:13So, you know, for last 12 years, we have been hearing that every small achievement in this country
38:22has been credited to the Prime Minister Modi.
38:24India wins a cricket match, credit Prime Minister.
38:28There is a hand pump inaugurated somewhere, credit Prime Minister.
38:32If it rains, if it's too sunny, credit the Prime Minister.
38:35Fine, we are happy to do that.
38:37But then every major failure must also have an owner.
38:40You cannot privatize the success and socialize the failure.
38:44You cannot take credit for every achievement of 140 crore Indians
38:48and then disappear when 89 paper leaks destroy the future of India's youth.
38:54So if Prime Minister gets credit, who takes the responsibility?
38:58And my friend spoke about that, you know, this was not done.
39:02There is no evidence to suggest that the changes in RFP recalibrations helped a specific company.
39:13So let's look at the one specific point.
39:14So those are questions that have been asked.
39:15I want to take final comments from the both of you.
39:17Final comments.
39:18And Sanju, let me begin with the same question that I asked you.
39:20You admitted that changes were made in the tendering process.
39:23Do you think young students, parents of those students, the people of India don't deserve to know what the changes
39:29made
39:30because it would have administratively, technically helped the process?
39:34That's why the changes made?
39:36Because it seems right now, Sanju Verma, to everyone, the changes were made for Coempt EduTech
39:41to back the contract over another company called TCS.
39:44So let's address the elephant in the room.
39:47Number two, the sheer fact on why the opposition is going after the Education Minister.
39:52It's not just CBSE.
39:54It's CEUT.
39:55You saw the visuals of what happened yesterday.
39:57Before that, it's neat.
40:00Okay.
40:01Preeti, am I audible?
40:03Ma'am, you're audible.
40:04Very audible.
40:05Yes.
40:05So let me come straight to the point.
40:07You know, let me throw the gauntlet back at the Congress party.
40:10Somebody sneezes in Jhumbri Talaya, Narendra Modi ka istifa maangye.
40:15Somebody has a sore throat, Narendra Modi is to blame.
40:18Somebody has a small headache, Narendra Modi ka istifa maangye.
40:21And let me say one thing.
40:23Coempt EduTech Private Limited won the contract for OSM marking system by 1.7% on a 50 crore contract,
40:34which means the difference between OSM and its nearest competitor in terms of winning the contract was a hefty 85
40:42lakhs,
40:43which is not a small amount for a small contract of 50 crore rupees.
40:48So please let us not try and, you know, behave like Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock.
40:53Let the investigative agencies do their job.
40:56And I want to say one thing.
40:57I agree.
40:58There has been more...
40:59Ma'am, Sanju Barma, can I ask you a question?
41:01We've been trying to figure this out all evening.
41:03Where did you get the figure of 50 lakh contract?
41:05Because the CBSE hasn't given it.
41:0750 crore.
41:0850 crore contract.
41:09I beg your pardon.
41:10Where have you got the figure of a 50 crore contract ma'am?
41:13I really want to know the source of that data.
41:16Ma'am, Preeti, 1.7% on a 50 crore contract is there in the public domain.
41:21After the debate is over, I can send you the...
41:23Ma'am, please send it to us.
41:24Because that contract that you are speaking of
41:28also speaks of you bag one contract and the number of contracts that you get, Agha.
41:33You and I both know it.
41:34Let's not get into...
41:35You know, okay, fine.
41:36Finish your...
41:36Make your point.
41:36I'll go to Saral and we can end this.
41:38Yes.
41:39I'm very glad you're holding the BJP to such a high standard.
41:43I'm putting a gun to my head.
41:44Ma'am, I'm not...
41:44Ma'am, I am not holding the BJP.
41:46I am holding the CBSE and Education Minister of this country.
41:49I hope you'll do the same.
41:52Preeti, can I please finish with...
41:53being heckled by you because you are known to give time to everybody fairly.
41:59You can ask me whatever you want to.
42:00I really don't have any, you know, problems with that.
42:04You should be asking me the tough questions.
42:06Let me say one thing.
42:07Everybody who's asking the CBSE questions, you must.
42:10You're asking the Modi government questions, you must.
42:13You're asking Dharmendra Pradhan questions, you must.
42:15But Bhai Sahib, Dharmendra Pradhan, I don't mean Preeti Chaudhary, he's very fair.
42:2339 paper leaks under Prithwira Chavan in 2012, when he was the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
42:31I was not in politics then.
42:32The whole, the whole, the whole system was in the mouth of Rahul Gandhi's mouth of Rahul Gandhi's mouth of
42:39Rahul Gandhi.
42:53Coming in on this.
42:53Sources have told us Education Ministry begins action in the matter.
42:57Reports sought over a warding of contract to co-empt EduTech.
43:01Tender process, details, related documents, all collected.
43:04Ministry sources say strict action against officials found accountable.
43:08All right, Saral Patel, the good thing is that the Education Ministry has kicked in.
43:15No, they always kick in after the horses have bolted.
43:18This is the classic case of that.
43:20There have been 89 paper leaks.
43:23In all of that, my friend Sanju Verma can enlighten us that how many arrests have been made
43:29and how many cases have reached its logical conclusion.
43:32And why, if the culprits are brought to the book, why do the papers and such kind of issues keep
43:38happening again and again?
43:40And my friend Sanju Verma seems more focused on, you know, winning this debate.
43:45But she doesn't care about a student losing a year, a family losing its entire life saving,
43:51a parent losing faith in the system, and the nation losing the trust in institutions.
43:56And she cleverly said that, you know, that doesn't mean that one company was favored over other.
44:03Any, you ask any person down on the road, any layman will tell you that TCS is a more competent
44:10and more critical company than...
44:14All right.
44:15Okay, Saral, appreciate you joining us.
44:17I don't have the time. Sanju Verma and Saral Patel, thank you.
44:19I'll invite you back on the show tomorrow because it's a story that we would be keeping a keen eye
44:24on
44:25and debating on both 9pm and also at 7pm tomorrow.
44:29All right, let's cut across right now.
44:31I believe we have Atishi, leader of opposition in the Delhi Assembly.
44:35Atishi joins us.
44:36Atishi, there have been multiple cases.
44:39First NEET, CBSC, CEUT.
44:41But do you think asking for the resignation of the education minister is a very simplistic demand of a very
44:49complicated issue?
44:52See, I think, Mitri, it's very clear.
44:55The problem is not with the education system.
44:58The problem is with the people who are running this system.
45:02If there was a one-off error, if one time the newspaper got leaked, if one time there was a
45:09problem with the CEUT, then one can write it off to a mistake.
45:14Now it is very, very clear that the people who are running the education system, be it the education minister
45:22or be it the prime minister of this country,
45:24who has repeatedly, year on year, had these pariksha pe chatcha with students, has written a book called Exam Warriors,
45:33but his education ministry cannot carry out even one exam successfully.
45:41And Preeti, please understand this.
45:45Entrance exams, like NEET, SSC, UPSC, these are the tickets for children from lower middle class families, from middle class
45:58families, to pull their families up.
46:02This is the ladder for social mobility.
46:04This is the means by which children's dreams and aspirations get fulfilled.
46:09They think that if we work hard and we study hard, then we can clear these entrance exams and give
46:16ourselves and our families a better life.
46:19But today this entire system has collapsed.
46:22NEET paper is getting repeatedly leaked.
46:25SSC paper got leaked.
46:27CUET, from the time it has started, not one year has the CUET paper been conducted successfully and without any
46:36crisis.
46:37Please tell me, why is it that despite so many mistakes, why doesn't the prime minister dismiss his education minister?
46:47Why doesn't the education minister come out and resign?
46:50It is very clear he is incompetent.
46:52It is very clear he can't do this job.
46:54Then why is the education minister not being removed?
46:57That is the big question.
47:00Atish, there is a standing committee in parliament looking at a lot of these issues.
47:04Because if now the opposition is going to band together, it seems like a witch hunt,
47:09where you are looking at asking for the resignation of the education minister.
47:13You are going after the government.
47:14It is not as simplistic as that, Atish.
47:16Because paper leaks, issues with examination haven't just existed or aren't just what you call the legacy of this government.
47:23It has been happening throughout. It has happened in the states that you have run as well.
47:29Preeti, look at the consistency of disaster that is happening.
47:34Since CUET has started, not one year has CUET been conducted without any problems.
47:43I used to study in Delhi University. Delhi University, every year for decades, used to start on 16th of July.
47:53All the admissions of colleges would be completed and 16th of July classes used to start and this has been
47:59happening for decades.
48:02Except from when the CUET started.
48:05Now every year, the session starts maybe in the end of August, maybe in the beginning of September, one does
48:11not know when.
48:12Because the CUET process is not complete.
48:15CUET exam has got delayed once already in this cycle.
48:20The next time when the CUET exam had to happen, students were waiting outside for hours.
48:25And there was a technical glitch because of which the exam could not start.
48:30Now for thousands of those students, CUET will get scheduled again.
48:34We do not know when the results will come.
48:36We do not know when the admissions will come.
48:38Second, NEET.
48:39This is the third time in the tenure of the current education minister that the NEET paper has gotten leaked.
48:48Every year, lakhs of students are taking the NEET exam.
48:5320 lakh students take the exams.
48:55So these are the dreams and aspirations of 20 lakh families.
48:59Their sweat and blood has gone into the preparation for these exams.
49:04Families spend their hard-earned earnings, their savings into helping their children get poaching for these NEET exams.
49:13Children study hard, often staying away from home, often living in difficult circumstances to prepare for these entrance exams.
49:20And then what happens?
49:21Then the paper gets leaked.
49:23How is any young person going to have faith in this system when it has been shown that time after
49:29time the system fails?
49:31And yet, when the system fails, no one is accountable.
49:36Okay.
49:37The education minister does not even need to come out and make a statement.
49:41And after so many failures, you know, Preeti, in schools, you fail once, you are given a second chance.
49:47You fail twice, the school usually removes you from the class.
49:51And they tell you, we will not keep you here any longer.
49:54The very education system, which is not ready to keep students after they have failed twice, is now letting an
50:01education minister fail time on time, time on time, and is yet not ready to take any action.
50:07Okay.
50:07Well, the education minister has come out and made a statement.
50:10It's not that he hasn't.
50:11He's made multiple statements.
50:12And the latest in terms of the question mark on the contract that was awarded to the firm for OSM,
50:18on-screen marking for CBSC.
50:20The latest coming in is that the education ministry has sought all paperwork, all documentations from the CBSC.
50:26And if there is an issue, then action will be taken quick and prompt.
50:30At least that's what's coming in from the education ministry.
50:33Thank you, Adushi, for joining us.
Comments