CBSE's damage control playbook: Board sent social media toolkit to principals to defend OSM, says report
The document, titled "Material for Principals" and seen by HT, contained ready-made scripts for principals to read out on camera, including instructions to describe CBSE as “highly proactive, empathetic, and communicative regarding these teething issues.”The toolkit was allegedly distributed through the board's regional offices and came as CBSE faced mounting criticism over errors and discrepancies in its on-screen marking system, known as OSM, used for Class 12 examinations.A senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Hindustan Times: "We did not instruct anybody to post any video in our favour."Journalist Mohammed Zubair shared a collated video of those posted on his X account.What the CBSE Toolkit Allegedly Asked Principals to SayThe scripted material directed principals to address student concerns with specific language. One of the read-outs included the following: "As with the rollout of any technology on such an unprecedented scale, I know that a few implementation bumps have caused concern... Please, do not panic. I want to reassure every student and parent that no child will be allowed to suffer due to a technical error."Principals were also asked to advise students that if they found "a discrepancy between your performance and your reflection on the digital sheet," they should use the official CBSE re-evaluation process rather than raise public concerns.The document further stated: "From an academic standpoint, the OSM system has fundamentally improved the structural integrity of our assessments... It frees up our evaluators to focus strictly on content rather than arithmetic, paving the way for a more standardized, transparent, and eco-friendly evaluation process aligned with the National Education Policy."Which Schools Posted Videos and What Did They Say?Several videos, predominantly Instagram reels, reviewed by HT showed principals and students repeating phrases that closely mirrored the language in the circulated document.A video posted by Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 1 Air Force Station Gorakhpur featured a Class 12 student defending the system. "I am satisfied with my marks that I obtained in all subjects. The problems faced by students are a new phenomenon as every year students face such problems. I don't think OSM is the problem," the student said.Principal Barrister Pandey told HT the video reflected the school's own position and denied following the toolkit. "Students can share their opinions in the controversy and it was the decision of our school staff that we should post the opinion of our students on OSM on social media," Pandey said.Abhimanyu Bhatt, principal-in-charge of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Jajpur, posted a video in which he said: "OSM is a very good initiative by CBSE... proper evaluation of answers has been done... teachers got plenty of time to read each and everything. Class 10 students should also benefit from OSM in coming years."Anisha Sharma, principal of Delhi Public School Siliguri, said in a video that OSM was introduced "with a positive outlook keeping in mind that evaluation will be fair, accurate, faster and transparent," using phrases that appeared verbatim in the toolkit document.Not Every Principal Followed the ScriptAt least one principal refused to participate. The head of a Delhi-based private school, who requested anonymity, told HT that the document had been sent directly by the head of the regional office but that they chose not to comply."I saw that Instagram has been flooded with principals supporting CBSE and the OSM process despite knowing very well about t
Discussion (0)