Rahul Gandhi hits out at Centre over CBSE row: ‘Modi government fears the youth and Gen Z'

COngress leader Rahul indira gandhi on mon launched a sharp-worded assail on the Centre o'er the controversy surrounding CBSE’s On-Screen Marking (OSM) system and other alleged irregularities, accusing the government of ignoring students’ concerns. He said the government has been branding young voices as “anti-national” for questioning the evaluation process.In a social media post, Gandhi linked the ongoing criticism over Class 12 board exam evaluation to what he described as a wider pattern of suppressing dissent under the Modi government.Also read | IITs, PSU banks roped in as CBSE re-evaluation glitches hit students, cost foreign university admissions“The Modi-Shah duo has turned yet another institution into a symbol of rigging,” Gandhi wrote, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah.Rahul Gandhi cites student complaints over evaluationThe Congress MP said serious questions had emerged over the CBSE board examination process this year, particularly after some students reported alleged discrepancies linked to the OSM evaluation system. “For the first time in decades, such serious questions have been raised about the CBSE board exams. 18.5 lakh children took the exam—and for a week now, complaints of OSM, wrong marking, and evaluation glitches have gone unheard, while the Education Minister clings to his chair,” Gandhi said, targeting minister Dharmendra Pradhan who has been under fore over the NEET-UG paper leak too.'Modi government fears Gen Z'Gandhi further alleged that the government was uncomfortable with young people raising questions publicly. “The truth is—Modi government fears the youth and Gen Z, because they are now asking questions. And anyone who asks questions, this government defames, intimidates, crushes,” he wrote.What is the controversy?The controversy erupted after several students and parents began posting complaints online alleging discrepancies in the digital assessment process. Among the concerns raised were “unclear” scanned copies of answersheets, calculation mistakes in marks, and responses that students claimed had not been evaluated. The matter gained momentum as students shared their marked answer sheets on social media while demanding re-evaluation.The CBSE has not reacted expressly to the claims on answersheets and handwriting "mismatches". However, the education ministry has roped in IITs and PSU banks to help with other glitches in the online re-evaluation process.Prominently, one student identified as Vedant took to social media and mentioned that the Physics marksheet uploded against him name was not his. “After receiving unexpectedly low marks in Physics, we applied for photocopies of my answer sheets through the CBSE reevaluation process.Today we received the copies. And I am shattered because the Physics answer sheet uploaded by CBSE is not mine,” he wote. What CBSE, ministry of education saidEven as criticism mounted, the CBSE and Union education ministry officials defended the new technology-driven evaluation process earlier this week, arguing that the system ensured greater transparency and objectivity in assessment.Also read | Wrong totals, blur scans, web glitches: Questions mount over CBSE’s OSM systemAddressing a press conference on Sunday, department of school education and literacy secretary Sanjay Kumar said fluctuations in Class 12 results were not new and that pandemic-era relaxations had earlier inflated pass percentages. “The system is now stabilising, and the marking process has become far more objective,” Kumar said.IITs and PSU banks to help with glitchesApart from complaints related to evaluation, students also flagged repeated technical glitches on the re-evaluation portal. Many alleged that the website crashed frequently during payment and application submission.Also read | What is on-screen marking system at centre of row over CBSE Class 12 results?Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday directed teams of technical experts from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and IIT Kanpur, along with public sector undertaking (PSU) banks to assist the CBSE in resolving glitches, including payments in its post-result services portal.CBSE held the Class 12 board examinations between February 17 and April 10, with results declared on May 13. Under the board’s newly introduced digital evaluation process, OSM, the overall Class 12 pass percentage dropped to 85.20% — down 3.19 percentage points from last year’s 88.39%. The figure is the lowest recorded since 2019, when the pass percentage stood at 83.40%.