Coempt, the edtech firm facing scrutiny over the CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system, has defended its technology and operations, asserting that investigations into recent controversies have found no evidence of software-related failures.

In a detailed clarification issued on Thursday, the Hyderabad-based company said the answer-sheet mix-up that triggered national attention was linked to the scanning process and not to any flaw in its digital evaluation platform.

The controversy erupted after a CBSE student reportedly received access to another candidate's answer booklet instead of their own. Addressing the incident, Coempt said preliminary findings indicate manual oversight during scanning.

"We have identified the location and the individual who conducted the scanning. We have verified 100 per cent that, technologically, there is no error in this case," the company said.

The firm also responded to allegations regarding poor-quality scans and claims that tender specifications had been modified to permit the use of substandard hardware. Rejecting those assertions, Coempt stated that it uses industry-standard scanners that are routinely upgraded to maintain high-resolution image quality.

According to the company, concerns raised about blurred answer-sheet images are currently being reviewed in coordination with the relevant evaluation authorities. It added that all operational records are available for scrutiny by government agencies and regulatory bodies.

Coempt further claimed that despite isolated issues reported during the answer-sheet access process, nearly 95 per cent of students who applied to view their evaluated answer books have already received them successfully.

The company also addressed reports of a cybersecurity breach involving a 19-year-old ethical hacker who claimed to have accessed parts of the platform. Coempt said the person had gained entry only to an internal testing server that contains dummy data and is never used for client operations.

"It’s used for internal purposes, with dummy tests and has public access," the company said.

Reiterating its position, Coempt maintained that its production systems remain secure and that no sensitive student information was compromised.

The company has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks after questions were raised over the functioning of the CBSE's digital answer-sheet evaluation process, including concerns about scanning quality, answer-book access and platform security.

With IANS inputs