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Two weeks after announcing results for Class 12, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is facing massive backlash over the newly implemented digital evaluation system. Students across the country report poorly scanned answer papers, evaluation discrepancies, and portal crashes. Many are now alleging that this has contributed to a decrease in the overall pass percentage and a drop in individual marks.
The new On-Screen Marking (OSM) system replaced physical evaluation with digital scanning and evaluation. Evaluators mark answer sheets via a secure portal.
Students who opted for revelations have shared images of their answer sheets on social media. Some posts reveal heavily pixelated or blurred PDFs of answer papers. There are also instances where overlapping browser bars and timestamp elements obscure the written text. In some cases, the wrong answer papers have been uploaded.
The results, published on May 13, recorded an overall pass percentage of 85.20%, a decline of 3.19 percentage points from last year’s 88.39%.
Multiple schools recorded a decline in pass percentages, top scorers’ marks, and the number of students with full A1s. A1 refers to exceptional academic performance with a score between 91 and 100. Particularly, a drop in marks, especially in subjects like physics, chemistry, and mathematics, has been noted.
Principal Prathibha V at Chinmaya School in Vaduthala, Ernakulam, said that not only has the overall percentage dropped, but the school’s distinction rate has also fallen significantly.
“Last year, we had around 30 students who got centums in different subjects. This year, only around 8 to 10 students have. Out of 131 students, only 12 students got an A1 in all subjects. Last year it was around 25,” she recalled.
Cicy Roy, chairperson of the School of the Good Shepherd, a CBSE school in Trivandrum, told TNM that the highest mark in this institute was 99.2% last year, while this year it is 95.4%.
Missing pages, wrong answer papers
Several students have alleged missing pages, incorrect or unchecked answer sheets.
“The scanned copy is unclear, and it seems like step marking hasn't been properly applied. I have attached the proof below. I urgently demand a manual rechecking of my answer sheet,” one student wrote on X.
I am a CBSE Class 12 student.
— VEDANT (@VEDANTSHRIV17) May 23, 2026
After receiving unexpectedly low marks in Physics, we applied for photocopies of my answer sheets through the CBSE reevaluation process.
Today we received the copies.
And I am shattered because the Physics answer sheet uploaded by CBSE is not mine
@cbseindia29 My exam copy checking is highly concerning. The scanned copy is unclear, and it seems like step marking hasn't been properly applied. I have attached the proof below. I urgently demand a manual rechecking of my answer sheet. #CBSE #Recheck #ExamResults#Manually pic.twitter.com/kQ7tYJWqWP
— AKSHAT SRIVASTAVA (@AKSHATS56148949) May 21, 2026
“The scanned copy of the chemistry sheet I received does not match my handwriting or written responses. For reference, I am attaching my English answer sheet, which clearly reflects my actual handwriting,” another student posted.
I applied for CBSE revaluation. The scanned copy of my chemistry sheet I received does not match my handwriting or written responses.
— Sanjana (@Sanjanaopxe) May 25, 2026
For reference, I am attaching my English answer sheet, which clearly reflects my actual handwriting. pic.twitter.com/laINaEMAP3
Another student, Sreya Jayakrishnan, told TNM, “In both my biology and mathematics, the evaluator wrote ‘Not Attempted' in the final score column for several answers. But I did answer those questions, and the evaluator has even entered marks on the answer sheets.”
Sreya also noted that, though many of her answers were from the NCERT textbook, she lost significant marks because they varied slightly from the CBSE’s answer key.
One more student, Harsha N Nair, said that there are delays in re-evaluation too. The re-evaluations for her physics and English papers have been pending since May 20.
Students have raised another complaint regarding the CBSE’s post-result services portal, which frequently experiences downtime and glitches. Each time a student attempts to pay the re-evaluation fee, the site displays varying and incorrect amounts. This ongoing issue is causing significant delays, resulting in CBSE students potentially missing out on college admissions which have already begun.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad-based Coempt Edu Teck previously claimed to TNM that the complaints only pertained to “one or two cases".
What went wrong?
Both teachers and parents have told TNM about their concerns about the new evaluation method. As per early reports, lengthy answers, diagrams, and stepwise markings have not been properly assessed.
Principal Anita at the School of the Good Shepherd suggested that a lack of understanding of the OSM system even among evaluators may have played a role.
One evaluator who wished to be anonymous cited an example:
For instance, if a student forgets to write down the question number along with the answer, evaluators simply tend to add it in the case of manual checking. But when the evaluation is online, teachers may not notice the student’s mistake, especially if two consecutive questions have very similar answers.
“If students leave out the question number, the teacher has to right-click and enter a note before adding the question number. Some teachers may not do this extra step [considering the volume of papers to correct],” the evaluator said.
Principal Prathibha emphasised the need for more clarity regarding OSM. She also pointed out that many evaluators may have been confused, as this is their first encounter with the new system.
"We do not know if there has been a change, OSM is only intended to serve as the digitisation of manual processes for the purpose of evaluation. Ultimately, it should function in the same way. We are still trying to determine if that is the underlying issue," she added.
Higher education worries
Prathibha said that students may lose opportunities due to a decline in overall marks. "I feel very sad that this has happened to this batch. The universities, professional colleges, and competitive exams, where they need to refer to their Class 12 exam marks, will see a significant difference compared to students from other boards, she added.
A student’s mother, Radhika*, said that her daughter had aimed to apply for an engineering degree, but since she only scored 68%, she was eliminated from the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for which the minimum eligibility is 75%. “She wrote the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) entrance exam, but her Mathematics score might affect her during the selection process, so she has decided to write an improvement exam."
Her daughter also decided to get re-evaluations done for four subjects. The process involves obtaining scanned copies of the question and answer papers and requesting re-evaluations for specific questions.
But Radhika pointed out that re-evaluation is not financially viable for everyone. “It costs Rs 700 for the photocopies of each paper and Rs 100 for the re-evaluation.
CBSE responds
The CBSE said in a statement that "all genuine concerns regarding scanned answer books or the evaluation process will be reviewed by subject experts through the prescribed mechanism.”
According to the CBSE, 98.6 lakhs of answer sheets were evaluated through OSM. The board also clarified that if any scanned page is unclear, if a student believes their response has not been evaluated, if there appears to be an error in the marking, or if any page seems to be missing, there is a structured process in place to address these concerns fairly.
Regarding the CBSE’s post-results services portal, Union Education Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan has given directions to depute a team of professors and technical experts from the Madras and Kanpur branches of the Indian Institute of Technology to assist.
However, attempts to discredit concerns have also been made. A Delhi Class 12 student who highlighted his concerns on social media was referred to as a Pakistani national by Doordarshan News anchor Ashok Shrivastav.
*Name changed