Bhubaneswar: Amid growing concerns among students over possible loss of marks due to the use of On-Screen Marking (OSM) for evaluating Class XII examinations, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Sunday sharply reduced the fees for obtaining answer sheets, verification, and re-evaluation, while strongly defending the digital evaluation system as a globally accepted and transparent method of assessment.
Under the revised fee structure, the charge for obtaining a scanned copy of an evaluated answer sheet has been reduced from Rs 700 to Rs 100 per subject. The verification fee has been cut from Rs 500 to Rs 100, while the re-evaluation fee per question has been lowered from Rs 100 to Rs 25.The changes come after students and teachers raised concerns regarding the OSM system, under which teachers evaluate scanned copies of answer sheets on screen.
This year, the overall Class XII pass percentage declined from 88% to 85%, triggering questions about whether the evaluation process had impacted students’ scores.
CBSE officials noted that the board had first experimented with OSM as a pilot project in 2014. However, the system was not expanded at that time due to limitations in scanning infrastructure, bandwidth, and digital evaluation capacity across regions.
The board implemented OSM nationwide after significant improvements in digital infrastructure and large-scale training of examiners. Officials cited the need for greater standardisation, reduction in totalling errors, and tighter security in the evaluation process.
School Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar, however, stated that there was “no direct correlation” between the use of OSM and the decline in scores or pass percentages. Students can apply for scanned copies of answer sheets between May 19 and May 22. Applications for verification and re-evaluation can be submitted between May 26 and May 29.
