CBSE OSM row: Congress targets Mantri Pradhan for 'holding onto office,' Pradhan Mantri for 'protecting him'

New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the government over the CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system issue, and said the "Mantri Pradhan's insistence" on holding on to his office and the "Pradhan Mantri's protecting him is shameful".

The opposition party reiterated its demand that Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan must immediately resign.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh cited a media report and said it has uncovered that the CBSE ignored views from its own governing body members to hold pilot projects across regional offices before rolling out the OSM system for Class 12 board examinations this year.

If it had listened, the unnecessary suffering of lakhs of students would have been prevented, Ramesh said on X.

"Ultimately, the Education Ministry's arrogance and refusal to heed wise counsel is not surprising. It is a policy that comes top-down from the Mantri Pradhan himself," Ramesh said, taking a swipe at Education Minister Pradhan.

The minister was on record in an official press conference dismissing the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education's recommendations on strengthening the NTA because "it has members of the Opposition in it", Ramesh said.

"The Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE), a body which brings together Ministers and top education officials from the States and the Union Government together to deliberate on matters relating to education policy, has not been convened since 2019. The Modi Government's own National Education Policy 2020 calls for strengthening the CABE, but the Ministry has conveniently put this aside," the Congress general secretary in-charge communications said.

The Council of National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (NITSER), which brings together directors of all NITs and IISERs together for consultations on the institutions, was not convened for more than six years between September 2019 and January 2026, he said.

"The minutes of the meeting that were held in January 2026 and chaired by the Mantri Pradhan are still not available to the participants. The Council met nearly every six months pre-2014," Ramesh said.

He further pointed out that the IIM Coordination Forum, which brings together all the directors and chairpersons of the IIMs, was set up by the Indian Institute of Management Act, 2017.

"The law mandates that the Forum meet at least once yearly. It met for the first time in May 2026, nine years after the law was passed through Parliament. The Chairperson of this forum is the Mantri Pradhan," the Congress leader said.

The IIIT Council, which brings together the Directors of the IIITs, last met in 2019, he pointed out.

"The Mantri Pradhan's insistence on holding on to his office and the Pradhan Mantri's (PM Narendra Modi's) protecting him is shameful. The Mantri and his Ministry have been thoroughly exposed as incompetent, arrogant, and unconcerned with student welfare," Ramesh said.

"This is to say nothing of the corruption which is rife in our higher education ecosystem under the Mantri's watchful eye," he alleged.

"Mantri Pradhan must resign NOW," Ramesh added.

The row escalated after some Class 12 students alleged scoring discrepancies and also that the scanned copies of their answer sheets uploaded by the board did not match their handwriting, raising concerns over possible answer-sheet mismatch in the OSM system.

CBSE sources said the board is treating all complaints on top priority.