Kannur University Disqualifies CBSE Partner Coempt Eduteck Over Pending Criminal Case

MUMBAI — Coempt Eduteck, the company hired by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for onscreen marking, has been disqualified from a contract by Kannur University in Kerala. The disqualification followed the discovery of a pending criminal case that the company failed to disclose.

The company is currently entrusted by the CBSE with handling the digitisation of exam answer sheets and their onscreen marking (OSM). This process is considered one of the most sensitive links in the overall examination chain.

The disqualification occurred during a bidding process for an end-to-end answer-book digitisation and digital evaluation contract at Kannur University. As part of its bid, Coempt Eduteck was required to submit a mandatory declaration regarding its legal status.

In its submission, Coempt Eduteck claimed a "clean track record" and certified that there were no civil or criminal proceedings pending against it.

However, while evaluating the bids, the tender committee of Kannur University found that the company's declaration was inconsistent with the actual status of its legal proceedings. The committee identified that Criminal Petition (CRLP) No. 696/2019 remains pending against the company before the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

As a result of this pending legal matter, the tender committee disqualified Coempt Eduteck from the contract.

The decision has raised questions among education experts regarding the vetting procedures of the CBSE. Experts are now questioning how the central board accepted Coempt Eduteck's declaration of a clean track record and hired the firm for sensitive evaluation work while a criminal petition was still active in the Andhra Pradesh High Court.