New Delhi, May 17: The Ministry of Education has announced a significant reduction in the revaluation and answer sheet verification fee for the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) exams, lowering it from ₹700 to just ₹100. This decision was revealed by Sanjay Kumar, Secretary of School Education, during a press conference on Sunday.
For the year 2026, the fee for revaluation and marks verification has been set at ₹100, while students will now only need to pay ₹25 for the re-evaluation of individual questions.
Additionally, if a student’s marks increase after revaluation, the entire fee will be refunded.
Previously, students were required to pay ₹700 per subject to view their answer sheets, ₹500 for verification, and ₹100 for each question during revaluation.
Students can view their scanned copies from May 19 to 22 and apply for revaluation from May 26 to 29.
Students Raise Concerns Over OSM
This decision comes in response to concerns raised by students and parents regarding the impact of the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system on CBSE Class 12 results. Many students reported receiving unexpectedly low marks, with some high achievers in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) scoring below 75% in their board exams, resulting in a decrease in the overall passing percentage from 88.39% to 85.20%.
Students alleged that the OSM system led to discrepancies in step-marking, causing marks to be deducted even when answers were correct. Consequently, students who scored 99 percentile in JEE found themselves ineligible for admission to IITs and NITs due to not meeting the 75% criteria in their Class 12 boards.
During the press conference, Sanjay Kumar acknowledged the impact of the OSM system on results and justified the reduction in revaluation fees. However, CBSE maintained that only the checking method had changed, not the checking rules. Kumar emphasized that the OSM system is designed to be foolproof and transparent.
According to the Ministry, approximately 9.8 million answer sheets were scanned and converted into PDFs before being sent to examiners. They implemented a three-tier security system during scanning to ensure that no pages were missed and that all security codes were accurately verified.
CBSE also stated that over 13,000 answer sheets that faced scanning issues due to ink or writing problems were manually checked separately.
Related News: CBSE has mandated a three-language policy for students in grades 9 and 10, effective July 1, which requires students to study three languages, including two Indian languages.