Managers used similar language—describing the OSM system as “transparent,” “accurate,” “faster,” and “technology-based” during decision support.
Videos of principals of various schools went viral on Friday morning, after the regional offices of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) distributed toolkits to them to defend the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system, an evaluation process for Class 12 board exams that recently sparked controversy.
What caught social media’s attention was the almost identical language used by school administrators in their video messages.
As previously reported by HT, the CBSE regional offices’ document, titled ‘Materials for Headteachers’, directed headmasters to defend the marking system and included stipulations of what to read.
Several managers used strikingly similar language – describing the OSM system as “transparent”, “accurate”, “faster” and “technology driven” while supporting the central bank’s securities decision.
What is CBSE circular for school principals?
The document was distributed to hundreds of schools – including the government-run Kendriya Vidyalayas and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas – to instruct them on what to read and how to defend the OSM tagging system on social media.
The document showcased the benefits of OSM and urged headteachers to describe the board as “highly proactive, empathetic and communicative in relation to these emerging issues”.
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“As with the rollout of any technology on such an unprecedented scale, I know that some bumps in implementation have caused concern… Please, do not panic. I want to reassure every student and parent that no child will be allowed to suffer because of a technical error,” the document said.
School principals have also been asked to inform students that if “there is a discrepancy between your performance and your reflection on the digital paper”, they must use the official CBSE re-evaluation process.
Identical videos are going viral
After the document was distributed to school principals, videos appeared on social media platforms, showing school principals using identical arguments and motifs.
In a video posted by Delhi Public School, Siliguri, principal Anisha Sharma defended the OSM system as fair, transparent, faster and a move towards technology adoption.
“I understand the student’s concern and anxiety regarding the new reforms introduced by CBSE, which is an important step towards technology adoption by introducing OSM. It was introduced in a positive outlook keeping in mind that it will be fair, transparent, accurate and faster, which it has been,” Sharma said in a video shared on Instagram.
“CBSE is very proactive and responds to all concerns, challenges and grievances,” she said, referring to issues of unclear copies and unverified copies.
Also Read: CBSE relaxes OSM norms in third tender after no luck in previous rounds
Sarika Singh, director of Shreeya Devi Bhagirath Rathi Maheshwari Vidyapeeth in Surat, also defended the on-screen signs, calling them transparent, accurate and technology-based.
“CBSE is working on making the assessment process more transparent, accurate and technology-based. This year, around 98 lakh answer sheets were digitized, which is a historic digital transformation in itself. The on-screen marking system, has many advantages,” he said.
“It reduces clerical and accounting errors, ensures greater transparency and also supports an environment-friendly evaluation process,” Sarika Singh said in a video statement on Instagram.
She said the council was working to address concerns raised by parents and students, adding: “No student will be harmed by technical errors.”
Leena Nair, principal of New Era Higher Secondary School in Vadodara, reiterated the terms: “standardised, transparent and eco-friendly”.
Describing CBSE’s OSM system as a “huge step towards modernization” of the examination process, she said the assessment system “fundamentally improved the structural integrity of assessments”.
Another video showed a manager apparently reading a script on camera, saying that OSM “reduces human error, ensures uniform labeling standards, and speeds up the preparation of results.”
Students say ‘They were asked to compliment CBSE OSM’
Videos and testimonials of students also appeared online in which they said teachers asked them to defend the move on social media platforms.
One Reddit user claimed that school teachers asked him to defend the OSM label on social media.
“My school teachers are forcing us to post publicly on Instagram that I (name) and I have this percentage under cbse board in this stream and have no problem with OSM screening,” reads the post shared by a user on Reddit.
A video of students, allegedly from Kendriya Vidyalaya in Imphal, has also surfaced, showing two students describing the new system as “fair, unbiased and transparent”.
Social media users expressed outrage over the video about the use of minors to “promote the government’s agenda,” calling it a “grave concern.”
Problems with OSM tagging
The OSM grade dispute escalated after several Grade 12 students alleged discrepancies in grades. Several students claimed that scanned copies of their answer sheets uploaded by the board did not match their handwriting, raising concerns about possible answer sheet mismatch in the OSM system.
Questions were also raised about the award of a contract relating to the digital evaluation of answer books to a company and claims circulating on social media regarding the alleged compromise of its OSM system.
CBSE has rejected the allegations regarding the award of the contract to Coempt Edutech, saying the allegations are false, misleading and not based on facts. Earlier in the day, CBSE also launched a comprehensive 24×7 post-result support system for students.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has instructed officials to take all necessary measures to ensure that issues faced by students are resolved in a timely, transparent and student-friendly manner.
The government affirmed its commitment to ensuring transparency, accountability and a student-focused examination system.
(With inputs from Sanjay Maurya)
