A recent contract awarded by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to Coempt Eduteck Pvt Ltd for its new on-screen marking (OSM) system has drawn significant scrutiny. The Hyderabad-based firm, tasked with digitally processing approximately 9.9 million Class XII answer books for the 2026 board examinations, edged out tech giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in the procurement process.
How Coempt Secured the CBSE Contract
Procurement records indicate that Coempt achieved a narrow technical victory over TCS, scoring 91 points compared to TCS's 89. A crucial factor in Coempt's favor was its perfect score in 'prior experience specifically in scanning and distributing subjective answer scripts for digital evaluation,' a category where TCS received zero points. This offset TCS's higher scores in technical presentations, live demonstrations, and turnover.
The financial bids revealed a stark difference: Coempt quoted approximately Rs 24.8 to Rs 25.7 per answer booklet, totaling around Rs 384.6 crore. In contrast, TCS quoted Rs 53 to Rs 65 per booklet, amounting to nearly Rs 951.3 crore. Under CBSE's Quality and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) model, technical scores carried 70% weightage, and financial bids 30%, giving Coempt a substantial advantage due to its significantly lower quote.
Kannur University Disqualification and Non-Disclosure
Adding to the controversy, Coempt was recently disqualified by Kannur University in Kerala for a similar answer-book digitization contract. The university's tender committee cited the non-disclosure of a pending criminal proceeding (Criminal Petition No. 696/2019 before the Andhra Pradesh High Court) against the company. Coempt had submitted a mandatory declaration claiming a clean record, which the committee found inconsistent with court records, deeming it a "suppression of material facts" impacting the integrity of the procurement process.
Rollout Challenges and Student Grievances
The CBSE contract was awarded to Coempt on December 5, just 74 days before the Class XII board examinations commenced on February 17. Following the results declaration on May 13, the OSM system faced widespread criticism. Students reported numerous issues, including blurred scans, evaluation discrepancies, and concerns over data security. A staggering 1,27,146 grievance applications were filed within a short period, relating to 3,87,399 scanned answer books.
CBSE acknowledged technical glitches in its portal and extended deadlines multiple times. The Union education ministry has since requested a detailed report from CBSE regarding the OSM system's procurement process and its operational effectiveness.
Legal Challenge in Delhi High Court
In response to the mounting concerns, the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court. The petition seeks an independent inquiry into alleged irregularities, technical deficiencies, and failures in the grievance redressal system. It also calls for manual rechecking and physical verification of answer sheets, an extension of the verification and re-evaluation portal, and compensatory marks for students affected by missing, blurred, or incorrectly evaluated scripts.
The developments surrounding the Coempt CBSE contract highlight growing concerns about transparency, vendor selection, and the implementation of critical educational technology initiatives.