CBSE OSM Row: Pradhan admits 'certain discrepancies' in process, promises fixes

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has acknowledged discrepancies in CBSE’s On-Screen Marking (OSM) evaluation process for Class 12 board examinations and assured students that all concerns related to marks and evaluation would be addressed through a re-evaluation process. This statement comes amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the digital evaluation system. Pradhan said CBSE’s first large-scale implementation of OSM involved an unprecedented volume of answer-sheet scanning and evaluation, making it a major technological shift in the country’s board examination system.

“Today, certain issues have come to light regarding the CBSE Class 12 examination evaluation process, and a re-evaluation process will now begin,” Pradhan told PTI.

Nearly 17 lakh students appeared for the CBSE Class 12 examinations this year and the board has securely preserved every answer sheet while evaluating answer books digitally under the new system. “In total, there are 98 lakh answer-sheet copies, with each copy consisting of around 40 pages, which means nearly 40 crore scanned pages were evaluated for the first time by CBSE through the OSM process,” he further said.

This come at a time when students and parents are continuously raising concerns over discrepancies in marks, alleging evaluation errors and difficulties linked to the newly introduced OSM process which digitises answer-sheet evaluation through scanned copies instead of conventional manual checking methods.

'OSM is a progressive instrument.'

Defending the system, Pradhan described OSM as a “progressive instrument” and said many universities and educational institutions are adopting similar digital evaluation models. “OSM is student-centric and designed for the benefit of students,” the minister said.

As per him, one of the major advantages of the digital system is greater transparency for students. He explained that scanned answer sheets can help students directly review their evaluated copies and better understand the marks awarded to them.“Through this process, students can transparently access information about their marks, and through scanned copies, they can directly view their answer sheets,” Pradhan said.

He added that the system was designed to reduce confusion over evaluation and help students verify whether any answer or section was left unchecked during marking. “It helps address students’ doubts and concerns regarding whether they received fewer or more marks, or whether any answer or section was overlooked during evaluation,” he stated.

At the same time, the Union minister admitted that discrepancies had surfaced during the first implementation of the system and said responsibility for resolving the concerns rested with the authorities. “This is the first time CBSE has implemented this system in the country. Certain discrepancies have come to our notice, and I take responsibility for them. These issues will be rectified, and appropriate solutions will be worked out,” Pradhan said.

He further assured students that officials were actively engaged in resolving complaints and queries linked to the evaluation process. “All of us are engaged in this task. We will not leave a single student’s unanswered query or concern unresolved,” the minister added.

CBSE continues to defend OSM

Meanwhile, CBSE has also issued fresh public communication defending the OSM platform and assuring students about the security of their answer books and the reliability of the digital evaluation process. In a recent post shared on social media, CBSE stated that the OSM system was backed by a “secure and robust IT platform.” The board claimed that “no compromise or vulnerability” had been reported in the actual evaluation portal and said the platform had undergone empanelled security audits.

Latest tweets posted by CBSE (Image: X/@cbseindia29)

CBSE claims multiple quality checks and safeguards have been incorporated to ensure secure scanning and processing of answer books. The board also told students that their answer books remained safe and had been processed through “multiple quality-control mechanisms.

The board has also announced a 24x7 post-result support system for stress management and evaluation-related concerns. Students can contact the helpline number 1800-11-8004 for assistance. CBSE has also shared official email channels, including info.cbse@nic.in and resultcbse2026@cbse.gov.in, for direct support related to evaluation queries.

The controversy surrounding OSM intensified when a 19-year-old ethical hacker claimed vulnerabilities in the portal’s login and authentication systems. Rahul Gandhi questioned CBSE’s response to allegations surrounding the evaluation system. While CBSE denied breach and maintained that the cited domain was only an internal testing platform, Gandhi said the board and the Union Education Ministry had failed to address the concerns being raised. “A denial is not an answer. Why are the Education Minister and CBSE unable to answer the four simple questions I have asked?” he wrote on X. Gandhi further said that the “future of 18.5 lakh students” had been put in jeopardy and demanded transparency over the matter. Meanwhile, several students raised concerns over answer-sheet mismatches and portal glitches during the re-evaluation process. Following the controversy, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced that experts from IIT Madras and IIT Kanpur would assist CBSE in strengthening the portal infrastructure.

In the latest development, Pradhan chaired a review meeting at CBSE Headquarters in New Delhi with officials from MoE, CBSE, IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, KVS and PSBs to review the Class 12 evaluation and post-result process. Discussions focused on strengthening CBSE’s digital platforms, improving the re-evaluation portal, enhancing student support systems and ensuring transparent, technology-enabled service delivery.