The Education Ministry on Sunday rejected concerns that the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system affected students’ scores in the CBSE Class 12 exams. The ministry said OSM is an internationally used system that ensures transparent evaluation.
School Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar said that to reduce students’ concerns, the CBSE has cut the fees for accessing answer books and re-checking marks. The cost to get a copy of the answer sheet has been reduced from Rs 700 to Rs 100. The fee for verification of marks has been lowered from Rs 500 to Rs 100 per answer book, while the re-evaluation fee has been reduced from Rs 100 to Rs 25 per question, according to a report by The Indian Express.
Fee refund if marks increase after re-evaluation
Kumar said if marks increase after re-evaluation, the fee will be refunded. Officials said these changes were made to reduce students’ anxiety. However, they said OSM is a “foolproof, standardised and transparent” evaluation process, the report mentioned.
This year, the CBSE pass percentage dropped by nearly three percentage points, from 88.39% last year to 85.29%. The number of students scoring 90% and above also fell to its lowest level since at least 2019. Under the OSM system, answer sheets are scanned and checked on computers. CBSE introduced this system for Class 12 exams this year.
CBSE says OSM was planned more than a decade ago
Kumar said CBSE had planned to introduce OSM in 2014, but the technology available at that time was not suitable. “There are several institutions in the world and in the country that do this (OSM)…Mumbai University, Visvesvaraya University,” IE quoted Kumar as saying.
Nearly 98 lakh answer sheets evaluated digitally
According to Kumar, around 98 lakh answer sheets were scanned this year and converted into PDFs while maintaining the page order. He said OSM has made the evaluation process more flexible. Earlier, answer sheets were checked only within the geographical areas of CBSE regional offices, but now papers can be sent outside those areas, bringing in more objectivity and transparency, the IE reported.
He added that OSM also removes errors in totaling marks because it is a digital process and keeps a record of marks awarded for every answer.
Kumar said around 13,000 answer sheets were found difficult to read because the ink was too light after scanning. These answer books were checked manually.
CBSE explains the drop in pass percentage
Speaking about the fall in pass percentage, Kumar said: “There is a variation in the pass percentage…in the Covid years, it had spiked. The system is also stabilising. What may have been, I can’t answer with absolute certainty. Now the marking process has become more objective and standardised.”
There has been no change in the marking scheme or assessment method, and the only difference this year is that evaluation was done digitally, the report mentioned.