The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has initiated corrective measures after widespread complaints emerged regarding discrepancies in the newly introduced On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for Class 12 board examinations.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday acknowledged the concerns raised by students and parents, stating that the government accepts responsibility for the issues and is committed to resolving them swiftly.
Speaking during a CBSE review meeting, Pradhan said the board has partnered with leading institutions, including IIT Kanpur and IIT Madras, to examine and strengthen the digital evaluation process.
“CBSE has involved top agencies, including IIT Kanpur and IIT Madras, to oversee the technology. Officials will ensure that no student query is left unresolved and accountability will be ensured at all levels,” Pradhan said.
The OSM system, introduced in 2026 for Class 12 evaluations, digitises answer sheets and allows teachers to assess scanned copies online. CBSE said the system was designed to reduce manual errors, improve transparency, and speed up the evaluation process.
However, the rollout has faced criticism after several students alleged mismatched answer sheets, blurred scans, incorrect marking, and technical issues while accessing their evaluated copies online.
According to the minister, around 17 lakh students appeared for the examinations this year, generating nearly 98 lakh answer sheets and approximately 40 crore scanned pages. So far, nearly four lakh students have accessed their scanned answer sheets through the digital portal.
Pradhan also highlighted that CBSE has integrated payment gateways with four public sector banks — SBI, Indian Bank, Bank of Baroda, and Canara Bank — to streamline the revaluation and verification process.
The controversy intensified after multiple students claimed that the uploaded scanned copies did not match their handwriting, triggering concerns about possible answer sheet mix-ups during digitisation.
CBSE, however, defended the OSM platform, stating that the system is backed by a secure and robust IT infrastructure with multiple quality-control checks in place. The board maintained that no security vulnerabilities had been found in the actual evaluation process.
Education experts and school principals have also raised concerns over the rapid implementation of the system. Some educators said teachers, especially in areas with limited digital infrastructure, were not given enough training before the nationwide rollout.
The board has now assured students and parents that all grievances related to evaluation discrepancies will be addressed promptly as corrective measures continue.
