Amid concerns expressed by students and parents over the “on-screen marking (OSM)” system to evaluate Class 12 answer sheets, the Union Education Ministry and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) defended the method on Sunday (May 17, 2026).

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Union Secretary of School Education Sanjay Kumar and CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh told reporters in New Delhi that OSM aimed to improve transparency of the system and that students could go for revaluation at a reduced cost. The officials, when asked if any study was conducted before launching the new system, said the only change in the system was that evaluators, rather than evaluating hard copies of marksheets, are doing the marking process on-screen. “So, it is not a difference. That has to be appreciated,” Mr. Singh said..

Mr. Kumar said OSM was a practice followed by various national universities, educational institutions, and many foreign universities, too. Seeking to dispel anxieties over the new system among students and parents, he said it would improve evaluation and transparency. He said the CBSE had introduced OSM in 2014. “At that time, from a technical perspective, it was felt that continuing it immediately would not be feasible because of the existing infrastructure and setup. However, we have reintroduced it this year,” he said.

The Union Secretary said that earlier evaluations were generally done within the geographical jurisdiction of the respective regional offices. “However, with OSM, it has now become possible to have answer sheets evaluated even outside the regional office area,” Mr. Kumar said. He said institutions such as the International Baccalaureate (IB) and Cambridge boards used OSM. “In fact, it has become a norm internationally, because through technology, it enables us to conduct the entire system more transparently,” he added.

The officials said 98 lakh answer sheets were scanned for Class 12, and three levels of security were followed during the process. “It was found that despite repeated scanning, there were still some legibility issues because the ink used in some answer sheets was of a very light colour. Even after scanning, those scripts could not be made fully legible,” Mr. Kumar said. When asked about the remedial measures, he said examiners were instructed to evaluate the scripts manually and award marks accordingly. “More than 13,000 such answer sheets were separately identified and manually checked. After manual evaluation, the marks obtained were entered into the system,” he said.

The officials informed that the CBSE has reduced the fee for viewing mark sheets from ₹700 to ₹100. “If they want verification or validation of the answer sheet, that too will cost ₹100 instead of ₹500. If they want any particular answer rechecked, the fee will be ₹25 per question,” Mr. Kumar said, adding that if a student’s marks increased in re-evaluation, then the amount would be refunded. “We are more concerned about the well-being, welfare, and mental state of our children. Money is important, but it is not the priority in this particular matter,” he said.