Hyderabad-based EdTech firm, Coempt Edu Teck, has broken its silence over mounting scrutiny regarding its On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for CBSE examinations, rejecting claims of software glitches, security lapses and tender irregularities while maintaining that its evaluation and digitisation processes remain secure and compliant.
The company came under the spotlight after a Class 12 CBSE student Vedant Shrivastava, alleged that he had received another candidate's answer sheet instead of his own, triggering wider concerns about the integrity of the OSM platform.
Responding to the allegation, Coempt said its internal review found no technological fault and traced the incident to the physical scanning stage.
"We have identified the location and the individual who conducted the scanning. We have verified 100% that, technologically, there is no error in this case," the company said, adding that preliminary findings pointed to manual oversight rather than a technical malfunction.
The company also pushed back against allegations that tender conditions were diluted to favour it. The issue was raised by 17-year-old student Sarthak Siddhant in a blog titled 'How CBSE Rewrote Rules To Favour Coempt EduTeck', in which he alleged that procurement norms were relaxed to accommodate a preferred vendor and substandard hardware.
Rejecting the claim, Coempt said the hardware used for answer-sheet digitisation met industry standards.
"The scanners used by Coempt are standard, industry-grade models utilised across the sector. We upgrade our hardware year-on-year and the scanning resolution is perfect," the company said.
Questions were also raised about the platform's cybersecurity after 19-year-old ethical hacker Nisarga Adhikary claimed to have accessed parts of Coempt's systems. The company acknowledged the interaction but maintained that no operational systems had been compromised.
"All he managed to hack was a server used for testing, which is never used for any client. It's used for internal purposes, with dummy tests and has public access," the company said.
According to Coempt, no student data, client information or critical technical infrastructure was exposed, and all live operational systems remain secure.
Coempt also claimed that despite "isolated bottlenecks", answer sheets had already been successfully delivered to nearly 95 per cent of students who had applied for access. However, the company did not specify the status of the remaining applicants who are yet to receive their copies.
Addressing complaints about blurred scans and difficulties in reading handwritten responses, the company said such cases were being reviewed systematically in coordination with the relevant evaluation authorities.
The company also sought to address criticism linked to the 2019 Telangana Intermediate examination controversy, an issue repeatedly cited by opposition leaders and critics questioning CBSE's decision to award the OSM contract to Coempt.
Referring to judicial records, the company said the Supreme Court had examined the matter and noted that out of 3.8 lakh students who initially failed the examination, only 1,183 were found to have passed upon review.
According to Coempt, this amounted to an evaluation variance of just 0.16 per cent. The company said the apex court subsequently rejected petitions seeking mass re-evaluation of answer sheets, compensation for students and criminal action against the technology provider.
"Consequently, the apex court rejected pleas seeking mass re-evaluation, student compensation and criminal charges against the technology provider," the company said.
Through its latest clarification, Coempt said it had sought to address concerns through direct communication with universities, public statements, and references to official records.
The company said it currently serves more than 35 universities and educational institutions across India and processes nearly two crore answer booklets every year through services including digitisation, on-screen marking, AI-assisted evaluation, and question-paper management.