The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) may not be able to blacklist its on-screen marking (OSM) service provider, Coempt Edu Teck, after issues in the evaluation of Class 12 answer sheets.
The Hyderabad-based firm is likely to face financial penalties under provisions laid out in the tender document issued in August 2025.
A corrigendum issued on September 20, 2025, removed key references to “blacklisting” from this tender document before the contract was awarded to Coempt Edu Teck on December 5.
The tender document in its final form does not contain provisions enabling the board to blacklist the company for the alleged lapses.
Instead, the contract provides for a range of escalating penalties linked to the severity of lapses and the time taken to address them.
Corrective measures must be taken for each mistake identified, failing which a penalty of ₹1 lakh will be imposed for every 15 minutes of delay beyond the schedule prescribed by CBSE.
Delays in submitting a root-cause analysis and corrective action plan attract a penalty of ₹1 lakh for every 60 minutes of delay, said the report.
The contract also provides for a penalty of ₹5,000 for every 60 minutes of delay in providing onsite support, onboarding assistance, training manuals, hand-holding documents and user manuals required for the smooth functioning of CBSE operations.
