New Delhi, May 29: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has announced that students of Class 12 will be able to apply for re-evaluation and request scanned copies of their answer sheets starting June 1. This decision follows numerous complaints regarding technical issues faced by students during the initial application process.
The re-evaluation process was initially launched on May 19 but was met with overwhelming traffic, causing the website to crash. In response, the deadline was extended to May 25. Students reported various technical difficulties, including server downtime and payment failures.
Due to the complaints, CBSE temporarily halted the application process for re-evaluation. The board stated that it is working to enhance the portal to ensure a smoother experience for students. More than 400,000 students have applied for re-evaluation this year.
Students have also raised concerns about blurred answer sheets that were still evaluated by the board, as well as issues regarding the re-evaluation fee, which was reported to be as high as ₹8,000.
In the first three hours of the re-evaluation application window, approximately 126,000 applications were submitted. This year, CBSE implemented an On-Screen Marking (OSM) system, which has faced scrutiny from students and parents alike, leading to a surge in re-evaluation requests.
CBSE reported that millions of students requested scanned copies of their answer sheets, and most have already received them. Out of 1.76 million students who appeared for the Class 12 exams, only 85.2% passed, a decline from the previous year’s 88.39%.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi criticized the government, stating that the silence of Prime Minister Modi and the lack of action against the education minister indicate a concern for political survival rather than the future of students. He has been advocating for an independent judicial inquiry into the OSM system and the contract awarded to Coempt Edutech Private Limited, a Hyderabad-based company responsible for the evaluation process.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has instructed officials to address student grievances promptly and assured that no additional fees will be charged. He acknowledged the issues with the new system and took responsibility for resolving them.
CBSE maintains that the OSM system enhances the speed and accuracy of marking while reducing errors in data entry. However, students have continued to report problems, including server crashes and payment failures.
According to reports, CBSE awarded the contract for the OSM system to Coempt Edutech, which has previously faced allegations of data processing errors in Telangana’s Class 12 exams. On May 28, Pradhan acknowledged the irregularities in the re-evaluation process and promised that all complaints would be addressed.