CBSE OSM row revives questions over firm linked to Telangana’s 2019 Intermediate results controversy

The controversy surrounding the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) Online Screening and Marking (OSM) system for Class XII answer-sheet evaluation has once again brought Telangana into focus, with academics drawing parallels to the State’s 2019 Intermediate examination results fiasco.

At the centre of the latest debate is Coempt Edu Tech, the firm that handled the online evaluation platform used by CBSE. The company is headed by V.S.N. Raju, who was the CEO of Globarena Technologies, the agency involved in the digitised Intermediate examination process in Telangana that came under scrutiny following the 2019 results controversy.

The controversies and the accusations related to both issues are the same – that the technology was not tested for its trustworthiness before being implemented. Now lakhs of students have lost faith in the system.

Coempt Edu Tech new name of Globarena Technologies

The CBSE’s OSM system has faced criticism from students, parents and teachers across the country, with complaints emerging on social media regarding portal crashing, students receiving blurred answer sheet scans and technical glitches during the evaluation process. Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, posted on social media recalling how Coempt Edu Tech was the new name of Globarena Technologies involved in the Intermediate marks fiasco in Telangana. “Why was there no background check of the firm despite its controversial past.”

Though the CEO, V.S.N. Raju, claimed extensive dry runs of the OSM platform before being adopted, the reports proved otherwise. Reports that the CBSE teams also warned of adopting the technology in a hurry and without adequate testing were also highlighted by Mr. Rahul Gandhi, who sought accountability from the Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Telangana’s Intermediate results crisis in 2019

The controversy, however, revived memories of Telangana’s Intermediate results crisis in 2019, when irregularities in result processing triggered widespread protests across the State. More than 9 lakh students appeared for the examinations, and the initially declared marks showing thousands of students either failing or being absent led to public outrage. Back then, several students ended lives.

Following the controversy, the Telangana government constituted a three-member expert committee comprising G.T. Venkateswar Rao, then Managing Director of Telangana State Technology Services (TSTS), A. Vassan and Nishanth Dongari of IIT Hyderabad.

One of the committee members, who wants to be anonymous with his comments now, recalled that the software was not tested enough to be adopted for such a large and sensitive system leading to the problems.

The committee’s report concluded that errors had occurred due to both human mistakes and inadequacies in the design and implementation of the software application used for result processing. It observed that the technical agency had not completed the required application modules within the timelines specified in the work order and expressed dissatisfaction with the overall work experience of Globarena Technologies.

Based on the findings, the government accepted several recommendations, including changes to result-processing mechanisms and consideration of action against those responsible. The Commissioner of Education at that time, Janardhan Reddy, revealed the same to the media after receiving the report.

The issue had also generated significant political controversy. In 2019, then Telangana Congress Committee working president A. Revanth Reddy, who is the Chief Minister now, alleged that the company enjoyed close links with influential political figures, including then IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao and demanded a comprehensive investigation into the handling of examination data and contracts. The then Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government rejected the allegations.

Mr. Reddy also alleged that Globarena, and another firm Magnetic, had cheated the JNTU Kakinada as well and a case was registered. He also released documents showing how an inquiry was instituted into JNTU Kakinada and Globarena tie-up for automation of examinations system with financial commitment of ₹268 crore.

After seven years, there is still no clarity on the action taken against those responsible for the fiasco, though Globarena was moved out of the system. The Hindu tried to reach Mr. Raju for his comments, but he did not respond to the calls.