New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has opened the re-evaluation window for Class 12 students today, marking the next phase in a post-results process that has drawn unprecedented attention following widespread concerns over this year's evaluation system.  

The move comes after lakhs of students sought access to their evaluated answer scripts, reflecting growing anxiety over marks awarded under the board's newly introduced On-Screen Marking (OSM) system.

The digital evaluation method, implemented for the first time in Class 12 board examinations, has faced criticism from students who alleged discrepancies in the assessment process.

According to data released by CBSE, as many as 4,04,319 students applied to obtain copies of their answer sheets. These applications translated into 11,31,961 answer book requests across different subjects.

Of these, 8,98,214 evaluated answer books have already been provided to students through the digital platform.

The large number of requests highlights the scale of concern among candidates who wanted to verify whether their answers had been assessed correctly.

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently indicated that while several lakh students had sought access to their answer books, only a section of them was expected to proceed with formal re-evaluation after reviewing the scripts.

The controversy traces its origins to CBSE's rollout of the On-Screen Marking system this year.

Under the mechanism, evaluators checked scanned digital copies of answer sheets instead of handling physical answer books.

The board maintained that the system would improve efficiency, reduce delays and strengthen accountability in the evaluation process.

However, soon after results were announced, social media platforms were flooded with complaints from students claiming that their marks did not reflect their performance.

Several candidates reported issues such as answers allegedly left unchecked, incorrect totaling, poor-quality scans, missing pages and technical glitches while accessing documents online.

In some cases, screenshots shared online appeared to show answer scripts being linked to the wrong students. CBSE later acknowledged a small number of such incidents and assured corrective action, including revision of marks where errors were confirmed.

With the re-evaluation process now underway, students who believe discrepancies remain in their evaluated scripts can seek further scrutiny through the board's prescribed mechanism.

How can students apply for CBSE re-evaluation?

Students must follow a multi-step process laid down by CBSE:

  • Step 1: Access and download the scanned copy of the evaluated answer book from the official CBSE portal.
  • Step 2: Carefully review the script to check whether all answers have been evaluated, marks have been totaled correctly, pages are complete, and no responses have been left unchecked.
  • Step 3: If any discrepancy is noticed, students can apply for verification of marks through the portal.
  • Step 4: After verification, candidates may seek re-evaluation of specific questions where they believe marks have been awarded incorrectly.

CBSE has reminded students that the outcome of re-evaluation may result in marks increasing, decreasing, or remaining unchanged. Once the process is completed, the revised score, if any, will be treated as final.

As the re-evaluation window opens today, thousands of students are expected to scrutinise their answer sheets closely, making this one of the most closely watched post-result exercises in recent CBSE history.