Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) found itself in the eye of a storm, after introducing On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for evaluating Class 12 answer papers in what was its first ever nationwide digital roll out.

Instead of traditionally checking physical copies, the evaluators checked the scanned answer sheets onscreen. While CBSE had promised that OSM method of evaluation would lead to greater transparency, speed and accuracy, technology fell short and over 68,000 answer books had to be re-scanned due to poor image quality, and over 13,500 were pulled for manual rechecking.

The OSM methodology for evaluation brought in disappointing news for students with Class 12 pass percentage dropping to 85.20% less than three percentage points from last year.

CBSE had been warned by teachers as early as February 2026 that evaluators had not received structured training for tackling OSM system, however the board went ahead with implementing it anyway.

Having received lower than expected marks, students began applying in large numbers for re-evaluation on the portal which opened on May 19 and almost immediately crashed under the weight of applications. After encountering the glitch, students were stranded mid-process as CBSE pulled out the application link from its website entirely. Portal then reopened on May 20, with CBSE claiming that 1.27 lakh applications had been submitted for 3.87 lakh scanned copies.

Students who had paid fees on May 20 reported that payment had been deducted but no confirmation had been received - and these students were in dark even after over 24 hours had passed since the malfunction. Some were able to successfully apply later, others still complained of the process not working. Login failures, application submission errors, download failures continued to be reported.

As of May 21, the portal again slipped into maintenance mode. The CBSE extended the deadline for application twice - in its attempt to remedy the situation. On May 22, it said that the extended last date for application was May 24. It later extended the deadline till May 25 (midnight). It also promised to refund any excess payment that was unduly deducted.

Students who managed to access their scanned answer sheets shared screenshots on social media of copies that appeared blurred, unreadable or having rotated pages. Some scans showed overlapping elements - browser bars, timestamps - obscuring the actual written content. Students posed an obvious question, if we cannot read these copies, how did examiners evaluate them? Multiple students identified answers that match official marking scheme - yet marks were deducted. Evaluators complained of screen fatigue, poor scan resolution and missed answers during the OSM process.

CBSE has stayed mum on how evaluation quality was maintained when source material was defective.

Class 12 CBSE students have been under immense pressure and while chasing a portal that keeps crashing, they are simultaneously preparing for the RENEET exam, CUET UG exam and so on. Every hour lost navigating a broken re-evaluation portal is an hour taken away from competitive exam readiness.

According to a response received for a Right to Information (RTI) query filed by educationist Keshav Agarwal, CBSE stated that it had collected over rupees three crores for providing photocopies of answer sheets to students in Class 10 and 12 for FY2024-25. Based on the aforementioned data it can be deduced that last year nearly 50,000 students applied (in Class 10 and 12 combined) for accessing answer sheets. Further total fees received by the CBSE for re-checking the results amounted to over ₹20 crore being collected from students.

In the current year, 1.27 lakh applications for accessing answer sheets have been received from Class 12 students alone.

After the current year’s OSM fiasco, CBSE slashed the re-revaluation fee by up to 85% - with scanned copies now costing ₹100 per subject from earlier ₹600 (which was the cost in FY2024-25). A full fee refund has been promised if marks increase after re-evaluation. However, CBSE should hold a formal technical audit, and take accountability for scanning deficiencies, and provide clarity on how evaluation quality can be maintained.

While CBSE’s digital ambition is not wrong, modernising evaluation techniques without adequate preparation is far from reform. It is an experiment on students. These students don’t deserve blurred copies, crashed portals and official excuses. They require a fair functioning system for evaluation.