CBSE OSM Row: Were Mobile Phones Used To Digitise Answer Sheets? Pens, Staplers Spotted In Scanned Copies

Fresh questions have emerged over the digitisation of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) answer sheets after several students who accessed scanned copies of their evaluated answer books alleged objects such as staplers, pens, keyboard wires and other desk items appearing along the borders of the scanned pages. The development has triggered concerns over the quality and standards followed by CBSE's service provider, COEMPT EduTeck, in the answer sheet scanning process amidst the On-Screen Marking (OSM) row.According to documents reviewed, CBSE's May 2025 tender had prescribed stringent technical requirements, including a minimum scanning resolution of 300 DPI and the use of automatic or robotic book scanners capable of digitising answer booklets

without cutting or damaging their spines.However, a revised tender issued in August reportedly removed the specific requirement for automatic or robotic scanners and reduced the minimum scanning resolution from 300 DPI to 200 DPI.Notably, following the release of the initial tender, COEMPT EduTeck had urged CBSE to permit the use of manual or indigenously developed scanners, arguing that robotic scanning systems were expensive, Times Now has learnt. The agency had claimed that its technology was widely deployed and that it processed over 1.5 crore answer books for more than 35 clients.Students who obtained scanned copies of their answer scripts have alleged that the images show staplers, pens and even keyboard wires captured during scanning, raising fresh doubts about the equipment used for digitisation.

Rahul Gandhi questions process

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reacted to the allegations and alleged that while CBSE's original May 2025 tender mandated 300 DPI scanning through automatic robotic scanners with answer book spines preserved, the August revision quietly diluted those safeguards."The tender re-issued in August removed the robotic scanner requirement. Resolution was reduced to 200 DPI. Now it has been exposed that answer sheets were allegedly scanned using mobile phones," Gandhi claimed in a post on X.

He further alleged that issues such as blurred copies, missing pages and unscanned answer books were not isolated errors but the "predictable consequence" of a contract tailored to suit a particular vendor.Neither CBSE nor COEMPT EduTeck has responded to the latest allegations so far.