Nagpur: Nagpur University (NU) is facing fresh questions regarding its continued engagement with Hyderabad-based COEMPT Edu Teck Pvt Ltd as its examination service provider, following revelations of a pending criminal case in the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The agency, in its earlier incarnation as Globarena Tech, was involved in a Rs 26-crore fraud at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), Kakinada.
COEMPT is already under scrutiny in the CBSE OSM controversy, which had prompted demands for its removal from Nagpur University. According to sources within the university, a Telangana Council of Higher Education panel has recommended that COEMPT be ousted from a state university and has advised other institutions to avoid contracts with the vendor.
In response, Nagpur University has constituted an inquiry committee to examine the process by which the contract was awarded to the software service provider. The panel, led by senate member Manmohan Bajpai, is investigating allegations that the eligibility criteria for COEMPT's tender were manipulated.
Speaking to TOI, Bajpai expressed shock at the reports of the JNTU-Kakinada fraud. "The committee will now investigate this allegation. If found true, the panel will accordingly recommend action against COEMPT to the university administration," he said.
However, the NU administration appears to be in a difficult position. Over 3.17 lakh students have already suffered due to significant delays and errors in the winter-2025 results, while the ongoing summer exams have brought their own set of problems. In both exam seasons, NU has held COEMPT accountable for the blunders and withheld its payments. The university has also served a legal notice on the agency regarding result delays and its inability to correctly process mark sheets.
With this new controversy surfacing, a senior NU official noted that the firm's credibility has suffered another blow. "Summer exams witnessed numerous errors in hall tickets and question papers. The exams are stretching till July. We have no option but to continue the contract. Hiring a new firm would entail a four-month process, and our winter exam would be affected," the official said.
The official added that the management council may decide on whether to continue with the exam operator, noting that the NU tender did not include a clause regarding non-disclosure of pending court cases. "The only legal rider was that the tender should not go to a blacklisted firm," the official stated.
