CBSE results row: Students, parents demand cancellation and return to manual evaluation

NEW DELHI: Outraged over alleged systemic failures in the digital evaluation process, students and parents across the country are demanding the complete cancellation of the recently announced Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examination results. A growing campaign, rapidly gaining traction on social media, is calling for a return to the traditional manual grading system and a subsequent re-publishing of the results.

The backlash centers heavily on the newly implemented On-Screen Marking (OSM) system. Numerous high-performing students who anticipated top scores reported receiving inexplicably low marks. The controversy deepened when candidates applied for photocopies of their answer scripts for re-evaluation, only to find the scanned documents completely illegible.

"How could examiners accurately grade papers that are entirely unreadable?" questioned aggrieved parents. Adding fuel to the fire, several students have shared screenshots online showing correct answers being awarded zero marks.

Stakeholders have pointed fingers at the outsourcing of the scanning and uploading process to private agencies, citing it as the root cause of the technical debacle. Furthermore, critics allege that teachers were assigned to the digital evaluation platform without receiving adequate training. CBSE authorities have so far declined to provide a definitive statement on these operational lapses.

The grievance redressal mechanism has reportedly collapsed as well. A significant number of students complain that they are yet to receive the requested copies of their answer sheets, while schools state they have received no clarity from the Board. For the students who did manage to access their files, downloading errors and corrupted PDFs have further compounded the issue.
In response to the mounting crisis, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has sought a comprehensive report regarding the technical glitches on the official portal and the hardships faced by the student community. While sources indicate that strict action will be taken against those responsible for the website failures, the Minister has maintained silence regarding the fundamental flaws alleged in the OSM system.