From being called 'Pakistani' to CBSE's apology: Vedant Shrivastava case amid OSM row

CJeune fille 12 pupil Vedant Shrivastava, who only when flagged a mix-up of his physical science room exam answer sheet, was subjected to trolling on social media and was even labelled a ‘Pakistani’, all for flagging discrepancies in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)’s new On-Screen Marking (OSM) system. He later received an apology from the board over the mix-up, but his attempt to get his actual answer sheet assessed correctly also exposed him to the darker side of social media.Notably, ever since CBSE declared the Class 12 examination results, students have raised concerns about the OSM-based evaluation system used to assess answer sheets. The overall Class 12 pass percentage also dropped by 3.19 percentage points to 85.20 this year. Following the backlash, the board opened a window allowing students to access scanned copies of their checked answer books.ALSO READ | Rahul Gandhi hits out at Centre over CBSE row: ‘Modi government fears the youth and Gen Z'However, complaints continued over errors and technical problems in the re-evaluation process. Some Class 12 students claimed the answer sheets uploaded by CBSE did not appear to match their own handwriting, which led to fresh concerns about possible mismatches in the OSM system.The Vedant Shrivastava caseThe Delhi student had requested scanned copies of his answer sheets on May 19 after receiving what he called "unexpectedly low marks" in Physics when CBSE released the Class 12 results on May 13.After receiving the scanned copies on May 23, he realised the Physics answer sheet linked to his roll number did not belong to him.He pointed out the issue in a post on X and uploaded side-by-side screenshots from his English and Computer Science papers to show that the handwriting in the Physics script was different."I studied for an entire year. I sacrificed sleep, peace of mind, outings, everything for these exams. And now I don’t even know whether my actual Physics paper was checked. Do students really deserve this?" he said in a post on X on May 23.Called ‘Pakistani’ for flagging discrepancyBy Monday evening, the post had crossed 3.2 million views and soon turned into a bigger social media controversy.Soon after, he became the target of trolling and abusive comments online. Several users accused him of trying to damage CBSE's image and questioned why his X profile location showed "South Asia". Some called him "anti-national", while others labelled him "Pakistani".Among those who initially called the student a "Pakistani" was Doordarshan News journalist Ashok Shrivastav. He later apologised, but his remarks sparked massive backlash online. Many people later came out in support of the student, including the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.“A 17-year-old boy, whose answer sheet was wrongly evaluated, turned to social media in hope of justice. But instead of help, he got abuse—BJP's IT cell branded him an ‘Anti-National’, called him a ‘Soros agent’, a part of the ‘Deep State’” the Congress MP wrote. Vedant also received support from the newly formed youth and Gen Z led “Cockroach Janta Party”, now operating under “Cockroach is Back” on X after its initial account was withheld, as well as from its founder, Abhijeet Dipke.A post by the party on X read: “We stand with Vedant. All he has done is expose the mismanagement in #CBSE exams. Education Minister must resign!” Notably, X profile location can sometimes display broader regional tags such as "South Asia", depending on user preferences and application settings.Vedant’s father, brother on online abuse"My son faced great difficulty even applying for re-evaluation. After getting the scanned copies, he could not sleep properly and decided to raise the matter on X by posting screenshots of his answer scripts," his father, Sanjay Shrivastava, told HT."He was called Pakistani and heavily trolled because his account location was showing South Asia. His brother later clarified this was due to a technical issue while setting up the account. It has taken a toll on his mental health and he is staying away from his phone now," he added.Vedant's brother Siddhanta later shared posts supporting him and said the X account had only recently been created to raise the issue."I am the brother of Vedant and I am appalled seeing how people are calling us Pakistani. Vedant did not even have Twitter because he was busy studying instead of tweeting. We created the account only to raise his genuine issue," he said.CBSE responds to Vedant’s caseAfter the matter blew up on social media, CBSE joint secretary (coordination) acknowledged the mismatch and informed him that his marks would be corrected soon. HT reviewed the communication sent to the student.A senior CBSE official also confirmed the mistake but did not explain the reason behind it."We communicated to Vedant Shrivastava today and have sent the correct answer copy to him by email. His marks will be updated accordingly," the official said on condition of anonymity.The official, however, did not explain how another Physics answer sheet had been uploaded under his roll number. "We will delve into it and share details later," the official said.CBSE also addressed his concerns in a reply on X. "Upon review, the matter has been examined, and the correct copy of your answer book has been sent to your registered email address. Necessary action for updating your result, as applicable, is also being undertaken accordingly," the board replied. The student later took to X to clarify that the issue had been resolved. He wrote, “We have got my correct answer sheet by CBSE. CBSE officials reached out to us in the evening and have sent my answer sheet. We were correct in our claims and the answer sheet indeed got exchanged.” Vedant’s brother, Siddhanta, also put up a post on X later, appearing to hit back at the trolls after his brother’s issue was resolved.“Rajma chawal after such a hectic day a big thanks to all who supported us from Vedant and Siddhant and we are not Pakistani,” he wrote. What is OSM system and why has it sparked a row?The On-Screen Marking system was introduced this year for Class 12 board evaluations as part of CBSE's effort to make assessment quicker, more digital and more transparent after results.However, students later started reporting problems, including unclear scans, missing pages, and answer sheets linked to the wrong candidates.Under the system, answer sheets were scanned and uploaded online, where teachers assessed them on computer screens. Marks and comments were entered digitally, and total scores were automatically calculated to reduce errors.CBSE has repeatedly said that the system has increased transparency and improved the evaluation process. During a press conference on May 17, officials defended the system and said it would also be used during re-evaluation.However, on May 23, the board accepted that students had faced "difficulties in accessing the portal during peak demand, delays in payment confirmation, blurred or missing pages, and doubts relating to unmarked responses", adding that these concerns reflected "technical capacity challenges and student apprehensions".A day later, on May 24, CBSE admitted that technical issues on May 21 and 22 had led to incorrect fee deductions and said extra payments would be refunded automatically.With inputs from Sanjay Maurya and agencies