A massive scandal has erupted in India over the results of examinations conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), affecting over 1.7 million students. Many students are furious over unexpectedly low scores and technical glitches in the new digital evaluation system.

Student Nandini Singh expressed disappointment with her chemistry score, calling the board “liars and a corrupt bunch of people taking our lives, our future hostage.” She missed the deadline to apply for a review.

The controversy centers on the On-Screen Marking system introduced this year. Students report blurry scans, server outages, and delayed resolution, casting doubt on the accuracy of results.

Student Vedant Srivastava posted on social media that the scanned copy of his answer sheet did not match his handwriting. CBSE acknowledged the error and updated his result after manual checking.

Another student, Sarthak Sidhant, uncovered that the company awarded the contract, Coempt Edu Teck, had been involved in a 2019 scandal where 20 students died by suicide after failing an exam in Telangana. The company changed its name after the backlash.

Nisarga Adhikary exposed vulnerabilities in the CBSE portal, claiming he could log in as an examiner and edit marks. He reported the issues in February, but they remained unresolved after results were declared.

Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi demanded the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and an independent inquiry, calling the transfer of CBSE officials a “cover-up.” The government transferred the chairman and secretary to other departments.

Student Prateek Singh expressed helplessness: “This result will linger behind me like a shadow for the rest of my life. It would dictate my college admission, then a job. And I will always think that maybe the examiner did not even read my answers.”

Source: www.aljazeera.com