Parliament panel summons Edu Ministry, CBSE officials on June 2 to review NEET, OSM issues

New Delhi: A parliamentary panel has summoned officials of the Union Education Ministry and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on June 2 to review the use of the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system and issues faced by students during the Class 12 post-result process, according to a Rajya Sabha Secretariat notice.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports will also discuss the implementation of the three-language formula in Classes 9 and 10. The board has made the study of three languages, including at least two native Indian languages, compulsory for Class 9 students from July 1.

The committee, headed by Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, has called School Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar and CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh for the meeting on June 2.

The agenda includes a review of the use of OSM in Class 12 exams and the issues faced by students as a result, according to the notice. 

The CBSE recently faced criticism from students and parents over technical glitches, payment failures, and access-related problems during the verification and re-evaluation process for Class 12 results.

It said that until dedicated R3 (third language) textbooks are available, Class 9 students will use Class 6 R3 textbooks (2026–27 edition) of the chosen language.

The move is part of CBSE’s alignment with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023.

Tamil Nadu has opposed the three-language formula, saying it imposes an additional burden on non-Hindi-speaking states and undermines regional linguistic identity. The state follows a two-language policy of Tamil and English.

According to the notice, the committee will also hold another meeting on June 1. On June 1, the panel will first meet at 10 am to consider and adopt the “381st Report on Action Taken by the Government on the Recommendations and Observations contained in the 364th Report on Demands for Grants (2025–26) of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education.”

At 11 am, it will meet officials from the Department of Higher Education and the Ministry of Health, the Director General of the National Testing Agency (NTA), representatives of the United Doctors Front, and Dr (Major) Gulshan Garg, former orthopaedic surgeon of the Indian Air Force.

The agenda for the June 1 meeting includes discussion on the “use of pen-and-paper testing versus CBT” and “views pertaining to NEET and NTA.”

The committee had earlier met on May 21 to review reforms in the NTA, the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, and the implementation of the Radhakrishnan Committee recommendations.

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET)-UG for medical admissions was held on May 3. It was cancelled by the NTA on May 12 amid allegations of a paper leak. The matter is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation, and a retest is scheduled for June 21.