India’s exam marking fiasco leaves university hopes hanging in the balance for students seeking answers
Under a new digital marking system, answer booklets are scanned and assessed electronically, but students seeking reviews of their exam scripts have reported issues including blurred scans, missing pages and unchecked answers.
Teenager Moksh Yadav is among thousands of Indian students contesting their national school-leaving exam results.
New: You can now listen to articles.
This audio is generated by an AI tool.
Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
NEW DELHI: When Moksh Yadav received his senior school examination results last month, anticipation quickly gave way to disbelief.
He had expected to score between 50 and 60 marks out of 80 for English. Instead, he was awarded just 33.
Seeking an explanation, Yadav requested a scanned copy of his evaluated answer booklet from India’s Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).
“I got my copy and I found out that it wasn’t my answer sheet – that completely broke something inside me,” said Yadav, who claims the board mixed up his answer script with another student’s.
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
He said the handwriting was different and the answer booklet contained fewer pages than the one he had submitted.
Yadav is among thousands of Indian students contesting their national school-leaving exam results, alleging errors linked to a newly introduced digital marking system that they fear could jeopardise university admissions and future career prospects.
MARKS UNDER QUESTION
For Yadav, the effort to secure a re-evaluation and seek answers has left him struggling to focus on his university entrance exams.
“I did not have enough time to study for them properly as I was mentally drained because of this – thinking about this 24/7, checking (social media) if there was any update,” he said.
The controversy centres on the new On-Screen Marking (OSM) system introduced by the government-run CBSE, one of India’s main school exam boards.
Under the system, physical answer booklets are scanned and uploaded to a digital platform, where examiners assess them electronically rather than grading them by hand.
Nearly 1.8 million students took the exams this year.
Earlier this year, the board said it was introducing the OSM system to improve efficiency and transparency in the evaluation process.
However, students and parents have reported a range of issues since results were released on May 13.
Among the complaints raised by those who sought a review of exam papers are blurred scans, missing pages, unchecked answers and marks that do not appear to match the evaluation.
On May 28, India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan took responsibility for glitches in the evaluation mechanism and assured students that solutions would be found.
He also defended CBSE’s digital marking platform as a “progressive instrument” aimed at bringing greater transparency and accountability to the evaluation process.
SYSTEM UNDER FIRE
CBSE has received more than 400,000 applications from students seeking scanned copies of their answer booklets.
On Tuesday (Jun 2), it launched a portal for students to submit re-evaluation requests.
The board has maintained that it is “committed to ensuring fairness, transparency, and accuracy” while reviewing reported discrepancies.
For some families, however, time is running short.
Lawyer Vineet Jindal said he has received numerous complaints from students who claim they have been unable to obtain copies of their answer sheets despite submitting official requests.
The delays are particularly concerning as university admissions are already underway, including at the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), where students generally need a minimum 75 per cent aggregate in board exams to meet eligibility requirements.
“I have got several complaints where students have got very good percentiles in the IIT exams, but in this CBSE examination they’re below 75 per cent. So that is directly impacting their future,” Jindal said.
LESSONS FROM FAILURE
Officials have said they are coordinating with universities to consider extending admission deadlines while re-evaluation requests are processed.
But it remains unclear whether all public and private institutions will adjust their timelines.
Following the outcry, the government transferred CBSE’s chairman Rahul Singh and secretary Himanshu Gupta to other departments, and instituted a panel to probe the irregularities.
But for students, that offers little immediate relief, as revised scores could affect university placements and shape future career opportunities.
Digital rights advocates say the episode highlights the risks of deploying new technology in high-stakes systems before it has been thoroughly tested.
“I think the presumption which is always there is that every technical process which is digitised automatically results in efficiency,” said lawyer Apar Gupta, who is the co-founder of Internet Freedom Foundation, an Indian digital rights advocacy organisation.
“However, if it is not substantively improving the system; if the faith in the system, if the trust of the students and how they are being awarded the marks is going down, then actually the system is failing.”
Source: CNA/ca(lt)
Sign up for our newsletters
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
About The Author
