CBSE Under Fire: Hacker Claims, Marking Blunders, and a Nationwide Outcry

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) finds itself in the middle of a massive storm following the rollout of its new digital evaluation system. What was supposed to be a step toward modernization has turned into a nightmare for many, with allegations ranging from security breaches to gross marking errors. At the heart of the controversy is a 19-year-old student and ethical hacker who claimed to have accessed the board's evaluation portal.

While the student alleged that the system's security was compromised as early as February, CBSE has hit back with a firm denial. The board clarified that the URL mentioned in social media posts was merely a testing platform containing sample data and had no connection to actual student records or the real evaluation infrastructure. However, the student isn't backing down, claiming that even the revised URLs shared by the board contained technical vulnerabilities. This digital back-and-forth has left parents and students worried about the privacy and integrity of their data.

Beyond the hacking claims, the physical process of marking is also under scrutiny. The board introduced the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system this year to evaluate nearly 99 lakh answer books. Reports suggest that CBSE ignored suggestions to conduct a regional pilot test before going national. Evaluators are now speaking out, describing the new workflow as alien and frustrating. They’ve reported issues like poor-quality scans of answer sheets and technical glitches that led to marks being recorded incorrectly.

The situation has quickly escalated into a political issue. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has lashed out at the government, questioning why a contract for such a sensitive task was awarded to a company with a reportedly controversial past. He has demanded an independent judicial inquiry and a Special Investigation Team to look into the alleged irregularities.

As the debate rages on, the focus remains on the lakhs of students whose futures depend on these results. With evaluators complaining about a rushed system and hackers highlighting potential loopholes, the pressure is mounting on CBSE to provide more than just clarifications. For now, the board maintains that the integrity of the platform used for actual marking remains intact, but for many students and parents, the damage to their confidence has already been done.

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