India, June 5 -- The unfolding controversy surrounding the CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system should serve as a wake-up call for the Government of India. Instead, what we are witnessing is a familiar pattern of bureaucratic complacency, administrative opacity, and a shocking disregard for the concerns of millions of students whose futures depend upon the integrity of public examinations.

The fact that a 17-year-old student researcher, Sarthak Siddhant from Jharkhand, was compelled to investigate hundreds of tender documents and expose alleged irregularities in one of India's most important educational institutions is both inspiring and deeply embarrassing. It raises a fundamental question: Where were the regulators, auditors, policyma...