The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is set to decide the future of its controversial on-screen marking (OSM) system for Class XII examinations in 2027 and its potential extension to Class X only after consulting key stakeholders, including students, teachers, and parents. The board plans wider consultations to finalize the digital evaluation method, which replaced physical answer-script evaluation this year.
OSM System Under Review
OSM was introduced for Class XII in 2026, transitioning from physical evaluation to computer-based assessment of scanned answer books. The review will test whether CBSE can address gaps exposed during the 2026 exams, such as complaints about blurred or cropped scans, missing pages and supplementary sheets, and unevaluated answers. Education ministry officials stated that feedback from those directly affected by the rollout will carry significant weight.
“The final call is ultimately likely to rest with students, teachers and parents,” a source said.
Consultation Process and Key Issues
The consultations will weigh students' experiences with accessing scanned scripts and seeking corrections, teachers' evaluations of the on-screen marking process, the adequacy of training, and implementation hurdles. Views will also be sought on whether OSM should continue in its present form, be modified, or be expanded gradually. Scanning quality will be central to the review, as the completeness of digital copies determines what examiners can assess. Technical experts will scrutinize scanning protocols, quality checks, data storage, platform capacity, and safeguards before any move to include Class X examinations—a shift that would sharply increase the volume of answer books handled digitally each year.
Cybersecurity Concerns
Cybersecurity is another critical element. CBSE’s post-result portal faced what government sources described as an “unprecedented and malicious” cyberattack, including a surge of traffic from multiple IP addresses in India and abroad, and attempts to access files. The board maintained that services stayed functional and that the evaluation portal was not compromised. CBSE now claims to have secured the portal and will continue working with IITs—Kanpur and Madras among them—Digital India Corporation, CERT-In, and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) to strengthen digital infrastructure.
Stakes for the Examination System
The stakes are significant: more than 1.6 lakh Class XII candidates sought verification or re-evaluation in 2026, involving over 3.8 lakh answer books, with physics drawing the most requests. The review will go beyond the question of digital marking’s continuation; it will test whether CBSE can plug gaps exposed during the 2026 examinations and rebuild stakeholder confidence before extending OSM to a larger examination system.
