Amidst mounting criticism over discrepancies in CBSE on-screen marking (OSM) system, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday accepted responsibility for the shortcomings.“The CBSE has adopted the on-screen marking system for the first time and some discrepancies have been noticed. I take full responsibility for the issues and assure students that corrective measures are being taken. All grievances will be heard,” Pradhan said.In a high-level review meeting at the CBSE Headquarters on Thursday, Pradhan reviewed the progress of post-result services with a focus on strengthening student support systems, improving the evaluation and monitoring framework, enhancing the CBSE digital platform, and making examination-related services more accessible and efficient for students.During the meeting, Pradhan directed officials to take all necessary measures to ensure that issues faced by students are resolved in a timely, transparent and student-friendly manner. He reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring transparency, accountability and a student-centric examination system, while assuring students and parents that all genuine concerns would be addressed effectively and expeditiously.He was apprised that nearly 18 lakh students appeared for the Class XII examinations this year, involving around 98 lakh answer sheets and nearly 40 crore scanned pages. So far, approximately four lakh students have accessed around 11 lakh scanned answer sheets through the portal.The minister assured of strict action against any lapses and stated that no negligence, whether within or outside the system, would be tolerated. He also took note of reports related to login access issues, heavy server load and payment-related difficulties on the post-examination services portal.An expert technical team, comprising professors from IIT-Madras and specialists in digital systems has been tasked with reviewing portal stability, server capacity, login management and payment gateway integration to ensure seamless and uninterrupted services for students.The Education Minister and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had a sharp exchange on X. Gandhi had pointed out discrepancies in the OSM and questioned why the OSM contract was handed to COEMPT.Responding to the Congress leader’s remarks, Pradhan said, “Rahul seems to have reached a different state of mind. Due to continuous electoral defeats, he appears frustrated. He opposed the SIR, he used to oppose EVMs, and he opposed Digital India. He does not seem to stand with India’s scientific progress. Politics can be done later. Right now, the most important thing is that the mental stress of these students and examinees should not increase further.”Meanwhile, Gandhi on X said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have sacked Pradhan. “Pradhan, you can attack me all you want but it won’t absolve you of your crimes. Nor will it stop me from demanding answers for 18.5 lakh children. Why the CBSE OSM contract handed to COEMPT, a company already was mired in controversy under its old name Globarena? On whose orders was it done? Why were no background checks done? What is the connection between COEMPT’s management and the Modi government?” he asked.Gandhi remarked that the minister is complicit. “Either you ran a background check and went ahead anyway – or you didn’t run one at all. Either way, you are complicit. As for responsibility – if the PM cared, he should have sacked you long ago for ruining the futures of lakhs of students,” he said.Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also accused the PM for shielding Pradhan. “Not content with slandering the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, he is now attacking the Leader of Opposition, even as his own Ministry is a den of corruption and mismanagement. His thick skin and false bravado is a great fit for the Modi-Shah brand of politics: utterly shameless and disinterested in governance,” Ramesh posted on X.