The Delhi High Court has issued a notice to the Centre and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) concerning the newly implemented On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for assessing Class 12 board exam answer sheets. The PIL, filed by the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), questions the fairness and reliability of CBSE’s digital evaluation process. It alleges issues like blurred scans, missing pages, and discrepancies in marks for students nationwide following the Class 12 results declaration.
The OSM system involves scanning physical answer sheets, digitally masking student identities, and evaluating them on computer screens. NSUI President Vinod Jhakhar, who filed the petition, emphasized the critical role of Class 12 marks in university admissions, scholarships, and students’ academic futures. The petition argues that the concerns raised are not isolated incidents but point to broader systemic problems affecting numerous students under the new digital assessment framework.
The PIL also raises doubts about the effectiveness of the grievance redressal mechanism for students, claiming inadequate digital remedies and a lack of access to manual verification or rechecking of disputed answer sheets. It seeks judicial intervention to reopen the verification portal, allow manual rechecking, conduct physical verification in disputed cases, initiate an independent inquiry into alleged irregularities, and establish guidelines for future digital evaluation systems.
