What Went Wrong With CBSE's New Digital Evaluation System? Answer Sheet Mix-Ups Explained

The Central Board of Secondary Education's digital evaluation experiment faces questions after Class 12 results exposed glitches. Answer sheets were mixed up, scanning quality failed in thousands of cases, and earlier technical warnings resurfaced. Officials still describe technology-based checking as crucial for future reforms, but parents, students and political leaders are now asking how the problems slipped through.

The worst lapses involved answer-sheet mismatches uncovered during post-result verification. Around 20 students, while viewing scanned copies on the CBSE portal, found answer books that clearly belonged to other candidates. Complaints spread quickly on social media and messaging groups, raising doubts about the reliability of the new On-Screen Marking system introduced this year.

Student experiences and errors in CBSE digital evaluation

One reported case involved Class 12 candidate Vedant, who said the Physics script shared for re-evaluation was not Vedant's. Another student, Sanjana, flagged a similar mismatch when checking scanned copies online. CBSE officials traced the problem to errors during the scanning stage, contacted affected students, and later supplied the correct answer sheets for verification.

The confusion came during CBSE's first large-scale use of the On-Screen Marking model for Class 12 papers. Under this approach, physical answer books were scanned, then marked digitally by evaluators. Sources said more than 98 lakh answer booklets, adding up to nearly 40 crore pages, went through scanners during the exercise.

Scale, manual checks and backlog in CBSE digital evaluation

Within that massive load, about 68,000 answer sheets showed poor scanning quality and required a second scan. Even after this round, more than 13,000 copies still did not meet digital standards and had to be evaluated manually. Officials stated that some disruption was expected when running a system of this size for the first time.

The controversy has also delayed key post-result services. CBSE pushed back the opening of its Class 12 verification and re-evaluation portal from 29 May to 1 June. The board anticipates heavy demand, with government sources indicating that more than four lakh applications for scanned copies of answer books had already been filed.

Earlier warnings on CBSE digital evaluation system

The current issues have drawn attention to an internal observation report prepared after a pilot run of the On-Screen Marking system in five Delhi schools in January 2026. Submitted on 21 January, the document listed at least 36 concerns covering technology, operations and evaluation practices before nationwide rollout. These findings are now being revisited.

The report cautioned that the platform risked "blind or superficial checking" because scripts could be cleared quickly without careful reading. It highlighted weaker supervisory control, missing safeguards against data loss, and no space for evaluators to discuss or align marking. It also recorded that evaluators could submit scripts with arbitrary scores without thoroughly going through answers.

Operational gaps and oversight in CBSE digital evaluation

Additional Head Examiners reportedly faced limits while correcting mistakes. They could not send scripts back for changes once marks were submitted, nor could they freely choose answer books for quality checks. Technical snags noted in the report included slow performance, no auto-save facility, difficulty viewing question paper and marking scheme together, hidden student responses and evaluator fatigue from reading long answers on screens.

Contract details and pricing for CBSE digital evaluation

Political focus has now turned to the vendor behind the project. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi questioned the awarding of the On-Screen Marking contract to Coempt, citing Coempt's record in Telangana. Officials responded that the tender followed standard procedures and that two firms, Coempt and Tata Consultancy Services, cleared the technical evaluation stage.

According to sources, these rates made Coempt the lowest bidder for the project. Officials involved in the process said challenges were anticipated with any nationwide shift to digital evaluation, yet argued that systems like On-Screen Marking remain central to long-term examination changes. They also indicated that answer sheets may be available on DigiLocker from next year, along with digital mark sheets.