Students hit hard by CBSE portal glitch, deadline extended till midnight

NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has extended the deadline for students to apply for copies of Class 12 answer sheets until midnight today due to technical issues with its portal. However, many students who had already applied were still unable to receive their answer sheet copies on Sunday. Although the portal functioned partially during the day, several students continued to face login and application issues.

Students need to review their answer sheet copies before applying for re-evaluation, but CBSE has not yet announced revised dates for the re-evaluation process. Meanwhile, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has assigned experts from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras to fix the technical issues. Their task includes resolving problems related to portal login and payment services. However, officials have not confirmed how long it will take to fully restore the system.

The portal crash reportedly happened after a large number of students rushed to apply for answer sheet copies following reports that the online evaluation process had failed. Students have been facing difficulties since the portal opened on May 19. This is the third time CBSE has extended the application deadline. Students are now hoping for additional time to apply for re-evaluation as well.

The controversy began after students alleged that they did not receive expected marks due to errors in the "on-screen marking" system, where scanned answer sheets are evaluated digitally to speed up the correction process and reduce costs. The portal issues have added to the concerns among students and parents.

Excess amounts will be refunded
CBSE also announced that students who were forced to pay unusually high amounts because of the technical error would receive refunds directly to their bank accounts. Instead of the regular fee of Rs 100 per subject, some students were reportedly charged between Rs 8,000 and Rs 69,420. To resolve payment-related issues, banks, including State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, and Indian Bank, are assisting CBSE. The support from banks reportedly came after discussions between Dharmendra Pradhan and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Action likely against officials
Dharmendra Pradhan has also sought a detailed report from CBSE regarding the portal failure. Information has been requested about the agencies and officials responsible for managing the website, and action may be taken against those found responsible.