CBSE Class 12 Result Row: The Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) regional officials allegedly asked principals of affiliated schools to record videos and circulate messages supporting the board's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system after complaints over blurred answer sheets, technical glitches and discrepancies surfaced following the Class 10 and 12 results, documents accessed by NDTV show.
The board's regional officers reached out to principals of affiliated schools asking them to reassure students and amplify positive messaging around the newly introduced digital evaluation system, which has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks.
As part of the outreach, principals were allegedly asked to record videos stating that "CBSE has been highly proactive, empathetic, and communicative regarding teething issues of blurred pages, illegible scans, or technical glitches on the post-result portal."
The messaging material circulated to schools also described OSM as a major reform that "completely eliminates human clerical errors, such as calculation slips or posting mistakes, which used to plague traditional physical marking."
Schools were further encouraged to explain that the system "frees up evaluators to focus strictly on content rather than arithmetic, paving the way for a more standardized, transparent, and eco-friendly evaluation process aligned with the National Education Policy."
CBSE Regional Officers Urged Schools To Advise Students Also Regarding The Evaluation System
According to some Delhi-based principals, regional officers also urged schools to advise students to "embrace these digital advancements with patience" and convey that "OSM fundamentally improves the structural integrity of assessments."
The outreach reportedly extended to the re-evaluation mechanism as well. Principals were allegedly asked to describe the revaluation portal as students' "official safety net" and assure them that "no child will be allowed to suffer due to a technical error."
The development comes at a time when CBSE has been facing growing outrage from students and parents over complaints linked to the OSM system, including blurred scans, missing pages, mismatched answer sheets and technical failures during the post-result verification process.
Jaipur's PM Shri School Praised Evaluation System On X, Deleted Post Later
The controversy intensified after a PM Shri School in Jaipur posted videos on X featuring a student and a faculty member praising the OSM system. In one of the videos, the student described the evaluation as "fair, transparent and in-line with his expectations," while the teacher claimed the system ensured "error-proof marking" through "clear scans" and "faster checking."
The post was later deleted.
Principals Defending Class 12 OSM Evaluation System On Social MediaThe alleged outreach campaign has also drawn criticism online, with several students claiming multiple principals appeared to be reading out nearly identical statements in support of the system.
Union Education Minister On OSM System Rollout
Responding to the controversy, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan defended the rollout of OSM while acknowledging that discrepancies had surfaced during the process.
"Today, certain issues have come to light regarding the CBSE Class 12 examination evaluation process, and a re-evaluation process will now begin. Around 17 lakh students appeared for the examination, and the answer sheets of each student have been securely preserved," Pradhan said.
"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. OSM is a progressive instrument. Many universities and institutions in India, as well as several institutions across the world, are moving towards this system," he added.
Calling the system "student-centric", the minister said scanned copies of answer sheets improve transparency by allowing students to directly access and review their evaluated papers.
"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. All of us are engaged in this task. We will not leave a single student's unanswered query or concern unresolved," he said.
"Using Kids To Justify Their Rotten System," Says AAP Chief Arvind Kejriwal
The issue has now acquired a political dimension as well, with Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal accusing CBSE of attempting to deflect attention from students' grievances instead of addressing systemic concerns.
"Rather than accepting the problem and correcting it, they are using kids to justify their rotten system. They are hell bent upon ruining the future of our kids" Kejriwal said in a post reacting to the controversy.