Won't spare anyone if negligence found: Dharmendra Pradhan amid CBSE OSM row

NEW DELHI: Amid the controversy surrounding the CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday assured that strict action would be taken if any deliberate negligence or wrongdoing was found in the process. He also criticised the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, saying the Congress leader was acting out of frustration following repeated electoral defeats.

Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Pradhan said the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had undertaken a massive digital evaluation exercise involving nearly 40 crore scanned pages.

 "Out of the 17 lakh students who appeared for the examination, CBSE has maintained answer scripts of around 98 lakh copies. Each answer sheet contains nearly 40 pages, amounting to approximately 40 crore scanned pages. For the first time, CBSE has conducted the evaluation process through On-Screen Marking (OSM)," the minister said.

Calling OSM a progressive and student-centric initiative, Pradhan said many universities and educational institutions across the world are adopting similar systems to ensure transparency and ease of access for students.

 "This system enables students to access their answer sheets and resolve any doubts regarding their marks. OSM has been introduced keeping students' interests in mind. However, some shortcomings have emerged, and I take responsibility for them. We will ensure that no student's queries go unanswered," he added. (IANS)

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