The Delhi High Court declined to give immediate orders to reopen the CBSE’s digital portal for re-evaluating Class 12 students’ answer sheets. The court expressed concerns that reopening the portal could disrupt the admission process for 17 lakh students. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta mentioned that 1.67 lakh students have already submitted revaluation requests, and reopening the portal now could affect the admission counseling process for these students.
The High Court, through a vacation bench, comprising Justice Neena Bansal Krishna and Justice Madhu Jain, stated that aggrieved students or their parents could seek redressal by approaching the court directly. The court’s decision came after a PIL was filed by the National Students’ Union of India, the student wing of the Congress, raising issues about the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system used by CBSE for evaluating Class 12 board exam answer sheets. The PIL questioned the fairness and reliability of the digital evaluation process, citing problems like blurred scans, missing pages, and discrepancies in marks.
The digital evaluation process, known as the OSM system, involves scanning physical answer sheets, masking students’ identities digitally, and evaluating them on computer screens. The petition highlighted the impact of Class 12 board marks on university admissions, scholarships, and future academic opportunities. It emphasized that the concerns raised were not isolated incidents but indicative of broader issues affecting numerous students under the new digital assessment framework.
