What Is CBSE’s New OSM System And Why Is It Facing Criticism After Class 12 Results?

The Central Board of Secondary Education’s new on-screen marking system for Class 12 has triggered sharp debate after the 2026 board results showed a steep fall in performance. The overall pass percentage dropped to 85.2%, down 3.19 percentage points from 88.39% last year, marking the lowest result in seven years and raising questions from students and educators.

Supporters of CBSE’s on-screen marking say the digital process reduced errors, but critics argue the change came too fast. While the ministry of education has defended the system as secure and aligned with international practices, the visible fall in Class 12 results has led to concerns about training, implementation and fairness in evaluation.

CBSE on-screen marking system and Class 12 digital evaluation

Under the CBSE on-screen marking system, the board shifted Class 12 evaluation from paper-based checking to a digital platform. A total of 98.6 lakh answer sheets, or 98,66,622 answer books, were scanned and uploaded. Examiners checked responses on computer screens, entered marks online and recorded comments digitally, while the software automatically added totals to reduce manual calculation mistakes.

CBSE has described this on-screen marking exercise as its largest digital assessment effort so far, moving away from long-running conventional checking. The board said the system ensured each response was evaluated according to the marking scheme. It stressed that reduced manual handling limited common issues in totalling, posting and uploading marks that had earlier led to errors.

CBSE on-screen marking system, security checks and manual evaluation

Ministry of education official Sanjay Kumar said the CBSE on-screen marking system operated with three layers of security during Class 12 evaluation. Kumar explained that around 98 lakh answer sheets were scanned, but some scripts remained difficult to read because students had used very light ink. Even after multiple scans, a section of these answers stayed partly illegible on the screen.

“In such cases, the examiners were instructed to evaluate the scripts manually and award marks accordingly. More than 13,000 such answer sheets were separately identified and manually checked. After manual evaluation, the marks obtained were entered into the system.” Kumar said special focus stayed on security features so that on-screen marking remained accurate, transparent and fair.

CBSE on-screen marking system, official defence and student concerns

Responding to criticism of the CBSE on-screen marking system on social media, the board posted on X that it had “observed” the concerns being shared. CBSE reiterated that on-screen marking aimed to improve “transparency, fairness, and consistency” in assessment. According to the board, step-by-step marking and automated totalling helped lower human error while still allowing examiners to apply the official marking scheme.

The ministry of education has rejected suggestions that the CBSE on-screen marking system compromised evaluation quality. Officials said the digital method was secure and reflected global practice in school assessments. CBSE confirmed that the re-evaluation facility for Class 12 would continue this year, so students could still seek a review of marks through existing procedures.

At a press conference, school education secretary Sanjay Kumar also announced that charges for answer sheet verification and revaluation had been reduced. Students will now pay ₹100 for verification and ₹100 for revaluation. The ministry said the lower fee was meant to ease financial pressure on families while CBSE implements the on-screen marking system for Class 12 at scale.

CBSE controller of examinations Sanyam Bhardwaj told news agency ANI that mistakes could not be fully ruled out, even under the CBSE on-screen marking system. “The CBSE is an institution that works in the best interest of students, and we operate with complete transparency. We evaluate approximately 1.25 crore answer scripts. There is a possibility that an error may occur somewhere. To rectify such errors, we offer certain facilities to our students,” Bhardwaj said.

School leaders have offered contrasting reactions to the introduction of the CBSE on-screen marking system for Class 12. A Delhi school principal, who did not wish to be named, said many evaluators lacked sufficient training and digital comfort, especially in government schools. “Many teachers, particularly in government schools, were not sufficiently familiar with the technology. Ideally, OSM should have been implemented next year after wider preparation,” the principal said.

However, a Delhi government school teacher who took part in the Class 12 evaluation process argued that the CBSE on-screen marking system reduced errors rather than causing the lower scores. “The lower pass percentage has more to do with how students attempted the papers than with OSM itself. Students do not take board examinations seriously and hence perform poorly,” the teacher said, linking performance to exam preparation rather than technology.

CBSE on-screen marking system and Class 12 result statistics

Under the CBSE on-screen marking system, this year’s Class 12 pass percentage was 85.20%. Girls again outperformed boys, with a pass rate of 88.86% compared with 82.13% for boys, a gap of 6.73 percentage points. In 2025, girls had achieved 91.64%, while boys stood at 85.70%, indicating a stronger performance for both groups in that year.

The CBSE on-screen marking system results also showed a fall in top scorers. A total of 94,028 students, or 5.32%, scored 90% and above, while 17,113 students, or 0.97%, secured 95% and above. The number of students placed in the compartment category rose to 163,800, or 9.26%, compared with 129,095 students, or 7.63%, last year.

The key Class 12 figures under the CBSE on-screen marking system are shown below.

With CBSE and the ministry of education standing by the on-screen marking system, the core dispute now lies in whether the digital shift or exam readiness affected the Class 12 results. While the board points to improved transparency, the drop in pass percentage and the rise in compartment cases mean students, teachers and policymakers will continue to scrutinise how the new system operates in practice.