The Union education ministry on Sunday acknowledged widespread concern among students, including hundreds from Nagpur, over unexpectedly low scores in the CBSE Class 12 board examinations under the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system. The ministry stated that minor issues in the evaluation process have been identified and rectified.
Key Actions Taken
Union secretary of school education Sanjay Kumar revealed that approximately 68,000 answer sheets were rescanned after poor initial digital capture, while nearly 13,000 were later evaluated manually. The board has also initiated the re-evaluation process as part of standard procedure.
Student Grievances
Soon after CBSE declared the results, several students alleged that answers and diagrams were overlooked during digital assessment, resulting in unexpectedly low scores across multiple subjects. Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry were identified as the most affected subjects.
Re-evaluation Process
CBSE examined the grievances and acknowledged the anxiety surrounding results. Under the re-evaluation process, students can obtain scanned copies of their answer books, compare the assessment with the marking scheme on the CBSE website, and submit objections. A committee of subject experts will review submissions and communicate its decision.
OSM System Rollout
The board reintroduced OSM this year after discontinuing an earlier attempt in 2014 due to technical limitations. Nearly 98.66 lakh answer books were scanned during the 2026 examination cycle. Of these, 68,018 were rescanned because of poor image quality, while 13,583 with persistent scanning issues were assessed manually.
Preparations and Technical Issues
CBSE conducted extensive preparations, including a dry run on January 20-21 at five schools involving 100 teachers. Demonstrations were organised, and the system was upgraded based on feedback. A webinar held on February 13 was attended nationwide, with the recording viewed over four lakh times. The evaluation began on March 7 after a practice portal opened on February 15.
Initial technical problems included delays in whitelisting static IPs at schools, server overload, download failures, and login issues due to incorrect data. In some cases, students answered papers in languages different from those recorded, prompting evaluators to temporarily reject those answer books before reassigning them. CBSE said all issues were resolved during the evaluation.
Concerns Raised by Stakeholders
- Poor scanning quality led to teachers assigning marks incorrectly.
- Strict adherence to stepwise marking penalised students who used shortcuts or alternative methods.
- Concerns raised about students scoring 95 percentile or above in JEE Mains but receiving poor board marks.
Dip in Pass Percentage
A statement from the education ministry confirmed that both pass percentage and average marks recorded a slight dip in 2026. Analysis of grade cut-offs showed that in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Accountancy, lower-level thresholds declined by one to three marks compared with previous years, while cut-offs in other subjects remained stable or improved.
Officials attributed the trend to strict adherence by evaluators to the marking scheme, which emphasises conceptual clarity and rigour over shortcuts. The board added that the scheme also accommodates alternative methods of answering questions, provided they are within the prescribed syllabus.
