Amid the controversy surrounding the Central Board of Secondary Education results process, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday said the board has initiated the Class 12 revaluation process and brought in premier institutions such as the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras to supervise the On-Screen Marking technology.
He also announced that CBSE has partnered with four public sector banks, including State Bank of India, Indian Bank, Bank of Baroda, and Canara Bank, to enable integrated payment gateways for the process.
Addressing reporters during a CBSE meeting, Pradhan said the board had engaged top technical agencies to monitor the digital evaluation system.
“CBSE has involved top agencies, including IIT Kanpur and IIT Madras, to oversee the technology. Four PSU banks, including SBI, Indian Bank, Bank of Baroda, and Canara Bank, have integrated payment gateways to support the process,” he said.
The minister admitted that discrepancies had surfaced during the results process and said the government was taking responsibility while assuring corrective action.
“The government acknowledges some discrepancies, accepts responsibility, and promises corrective measures. Officials will ensure that no student query is left unresolved and accountability will be ensured at all levels,” he said.
Pradhan further highlighted the scale of the evaluation exercise, noting that around 17 lakh students appeared for the examinations, generating nearly 98 lakh answer books and close to 40 crore scanned pages.
“For the first time, CBSE has introduced a digital evaluation system aimed at transparency and student-centric reforms. Students can now access scanned answer sheets to verify marks and raise queries. So far, nearly four lakh students have retrieved their answer sheets, covering around 11 lakh copies,” he added.
CBSE defends OSM system
Facing criticism over the On-Screen Marking system, the Central Board of Secondary Education stated in a post on X that the digital evaluation process operates on a secure and robust IT platform.
The board maintained that no compromises or vulnerabilities were found during the actual evaluation process and said answer books had gone through several layers of quality checks and security protocols.
Why the OSM system sparked controversy
CBSE’s newly introduced On-Screen Marking system for Class 12 board exams has drawn criticism following complaints from students over alleged glitches and discrepancies during re-evaluation.
Much of the controversy revolves around claims that some scanned answer sheets uploaded by the board did not appear to match students’ handwriting, raising concerns about possible answer sheet mismatches in the digital process.
What is OSM?
The On-Screen Marking system was introduced for CBSE Class 12 board exams from 2026 onwards. Under the model, students continue writing exams in the traditional format, but answer sheets are digitally scanned and evaluated online instead of through manual checking.
CBSE argues that the system reduces human error and improves transparency by limiting manual intervention.
However, concerns had already been raised by several teachers and school administrators even before the results were declared. Some educators pointed to poor digital infrastructure, connectivity issues, and inadequate training as major challenges in implementing the system smoothly.
Speaking after the results were announced, several principals and teachers said the rollout may have been rushed.
“Many teachers, particularly in government schools, were not sufficiently familiar with the technology. Ideally, OSM should have been implemented next year after wider preparation,” one principal said.
