‘Beware Of Pickpockets’: Rahul Gandhi Targets CBSE Over Re-Evaluation Glitches, Fees

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Monday, launched a scathing attack on the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) regarding its post-result fee structure. The Congress leader pointed out the high costs associated with requesting scanned copies, re-totalling, and re-evaluation, and said that students are being penalised for systemic failures.

In a post on X, the former Congress president criticised the board for charging students for rectifications allegedly caused by errors in the digital scanning process.

Rahul Gandhi wrote, “Beware of pickpockets – today they’re sitting inside CBSE. If marks come out wrong due to CBSE’s mistake, what do you get? A bill: Digital scan copy: ₹100/subject, Re-totalling: ₹100/paper, Re-evaluation: ₹25/question. A child might have to shell out up to ₹2000 just to get their own answer sheet properly checked. Think about it: when 4 lakh kids have filed such applications, how much is CBSE raking in. When scanning was done with a phone, wrong marking is a given. And the child is footing the bill to get it fixed.”

“The mistake is CBSE’s. The punishment is the child’s. The earnings are the government’s. When education is turned from a service into a business, mistakes aren’t corrected. They’re multiplied. And our children are paying the steepest price for it – with their time, their self-confidence, and their future,” the post added.

The Congress leader further alleged that widespread marking errors effectively penalise students who seek corrections, and that the ‘profit goes to the government.’

He added, “When scanning is done using mobile phones, incorrect marking is inevitable. And the student is the one paying the price to get it rectified. The mistake belongs to the CBSE. The punishment falls on the student. The profit goes to the government.”

On Sunday, amid the ongoing controversy surrounding its On-Screen Marking (OSM) evaluation process, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) said it has closely monitored vulnerabilities flagged in the OnMark portal of its service provider and has deployed cybersecurity experts to strengthen the system.

In a post on X, CBSE said an expert team comprising cybersecurity professionals from various government agencies and the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) has been working over the past few days to secure the platform. CBSE stated that the identified vulnerabilities have been contained, and efforts are underway to ensure that no other exploitable weaknesses remain in the system.

The board also thanked alert citizens and ethical hackers who pointed out potential security issues and said it had directly engaged with some of them. (ANI)