New Delhi: Sarthak Sidhant, a 17-year-old student from Jharkhand affected by the CBSE’s online marking system, made a presentation before a parliamentary panel Tuesday on alleged irregularities in the tendering process for vendor selection for online marking in the Class-12 exams.
Sarthak, who himself appeared in the exams, pointed out the anomalies in the tendering process of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to select venders for online marking and put forth a set of questions for the board, sources said.
He also presented a seven-page copy of his findings before the Parliamentary Committee for Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, chaired by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh, who heard him patiently and demanded answers from CBSE officials.
Sarthak’s presentation was made in the presence of CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh and Secretary, School Education, Sanjay Kumar, along with other officials of the Ministry of Education and the board.
The CBSE handed over a report to the panel members, presenting their side on the problems faced by students, and assured the MPs that the glitches that appeared on its portal have since been rectified and students now have time till June 6 to apply for re-evaluation of their answersheets.
The meeting was held at the Parliament House Annexe amid growing concerns of students on glitches, alleged discrepancies in evaluation and challenges faced by them during the Class 12 post-result verification.
Amid a row over the CBSE’s on-screen marking system, the committee had summoned top officials of the board and the Ministry of School Education to discuss the issue of using the online marking system (OSM) in the Class-12 exams and the problems faced by students consequently.
The panel also discussed applying the three-language formula in Classes 9 and 10 with the education ministry officials.
Singh told reporters about Sarthak’s presentation.
On whether he was satisfied with the CBSE’s replies, the panel chairman said, “That is for the committee to decide.”
He did not respond to the three-language formula issue either, saying, “I believe the matter is sub-judice.”
“The committee has always been looking at the issues of students and their problems. This is exactly what the committee has done,” Singh told reporters when asked about the meeting.