The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has finally found a qualified vendor for its on-screen marking system (OSM) after relaxing several key requirements in the third tender.
The board received no bids in the first round and failed to find a technically eligible bidder in the second.
According to documents reviewed by HT and officials familiar with the matter, the third tender was issued in August 2025, with only six months remaining before the system was deployed at a national scale for Class 12 board examinations.
A senior board official confirmed the sequence, stating that the board identified several shortcomings and operational issues in the initial Request for Proposal (RFP) documents.
The official added that these gaps were addressed in the third RFP, where certain conditions were modified to make the process more practical and ensure successful participation.
Teachers who participated in a two-day dry run conducted in January had warned CBSE that the system needed at least a year or two of further preparation before nationwide implementation.
Coempt was declared the successful bidder after financial evaluation as the lowest financial bidder under the quality-cum-cost based selection framework.
