New Delhi: Facing growing concerns over discrepancies in CBSE Class 12 evaluations, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday said the government will ensure that “not a single student’s concern goes unresolved” as the board begins a re-evaluation process linked to its first-ever On-Screen Marking (OSM) system.
Pradhan visited the headquarters of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in Dwarka and held a review meeting with senior officials after complaints surfaced regarding evaluation irregularities in some Class 12 papers.
The Minister acknowledged that the transition to the new digital evaluation system had faced challenges but defended the broader move towards technology-driven assessment.
Nearly 98 lakh answer sheets, 40 crore pages evaluated digitally
Calling the scale of the exercise “massive,” Pradhan revealed that around 17 lakh students appeared for the CBSE Class 12 examinations this year. According to him, the board evaluated nearly 98 lakh answer-sheet copies through the OSM system for the first time.
Each answer booklet reportedly contained around 40 pages, taking the total number of scanned pages evaluated to almost 40 crore.
“OSM is a progressive instrument,” Pradhan said while addressing the media after the meeting. “Many universities and institutions in India and abroad are moving towards this system because it is more transparent and student-centric.”
The Minister said the digital evaluation process allows students to directly access scanned copies of their answer sheets, making it easier to identify if any answer was left unchecked or if marks were incorrectly awarded.
‘Certain discrepancies have come to our notice’
Even as he defended the system, Pradhan admitted that problems had emerged during the implementation phase.
“Certain discrepancies have come to our notice, and I take responsibility for them,” he said, adding that corrective measures are already being worked out.
The statement comes amid growing anxiety among students and parents who have alleged mismatched marks, unchecked pages and inconsistencies in evaluations after the declaration of CBSE Class 12 results.
Pradhan assured students that every answer sheet has been securely preserved and can be revisited during the re-evaluation process.
“All of us are engaged in this task. We will not leave a single student’s unanswered query or concern unresolved,” he said.
What is OSM?
The OSM system marks a major shift in how one of India’s largest school boards conducts evaluations. Traditionally, examiners physically checked paper copies. Under the new method, answer sheets are scanned and evaluated digitally on-screen by examiners.
(Inputs from IANS & PTI)
