New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will introduce the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for evaluation of Class 12 answer books from the 2026 board examinations beginning February 17, marking a major shift to digital assessment while retaining pen-and-paper mode of examination and human evaluation.
The board said the move aims to improve “efficiency and transparency” in the assessment process, with benefits such as “elimination of totalling errors,” “automated coordination, reducing manual intervention,” and “faster evaluation with wider teacher participation.”
However, some teachers said the lack of digital infrastructure and poor connectivity could pose potential problems .
The evaluation of Class 10 answer books will continue in physical mode in 2026.
In a February 9 communication to school principals, CBSE examinations controller Sanyam Bhardwaj said the board conducts Class 10 and 12 exams across India and 26 countries for nearly 4.6 million students annually, and is now transitioning to digital evaluation for senior secondary exams.
OSM system evaluation
Under OSM, students will continue to write exams in the same format, but answer scripts will be scanned, digitised and uploaded by CBSE to a portal where teachers will log in with their unique IDs to assess answer copies on computer screen using digital tools for marking, annotations and page navigation. They will read answers, award marks , annotate each page digitally and submit marks online
According to a user manual issued by CBSE for digital evaluation, marks will still be awarded by teachers and not software, but the total will be auto-calculated to reduce calculation errors. Supervisors such as head examiners will monitor and revise marks if needed, and complaints of malpractice can be flagged digitally.
{{/usCountry}}According to a user manual issued by CBSE for digital evaluation, marks will still be awarded by teachers and not software, but the total will be auto-calculated to reduce calculation errors. Supervisors such as head examiners will monitor and revise marks if needed, and complaints of malpractice can be flagged digitally.
{{/usCountry}}According to principals of CBSE-affiliated schools, unlike the earlier centre-based paper evaluation that required teachers to travel to designated centres, OSM allows them to assess digitised scripts from their own schools, cutting travel time, costs and logistical delays. It also widens participation including teachers from overseas CBSE schools.
CBSE had earlier piloted digital evaluation for Class 10 in a few regional offices in 2014 and for selected Class 12 subjects in the Delhi region in 2015. “The OSM system is very advanced compared to the system that we had in 2014 and 2015… now copies will remain intact and we won’t cut each page before scanning that we used to do earlier,” Bhardwaj told HT. He added that many pilots were conducted recently to test the new OSM system.
The board has described OSM as an “environmentally sustainable digital evaluation”
Bhardwaj said that there will be “no change for students.”
CBSE has also not introduced any provision for students to access evaluated scripts online through the OSM portal as this portal will be exclusively for evaluators and CBSE officials.
Bhardwaj said students will continue to use existing re-evaluation mechanisms to obtain photocopies of answer sheets after results are declared. Students can obtain photocopies of answer books and apply for marks verification or re-evaluation, or both, based on discrepancies identified. Automated totalling is expected to reduce calculation mistakes, but grievance redressal procedures remain unchanged, he added.
Requirements for OSM system
CBSE has asked schools to maintain infrastructure such as a computer lab with Public Static IP, updated computers, reliable internet connectivity and uninterrupted power supply. Teachers will log in to the OSM portal using credentials linked to the Online Affiliated School Information System (OASIS), CBSE’s digital portal used for school and teacher records. CBSE has asked schools to update the data of the teachers teaching classes 11 and 12, on the OASIS portal by February 13.
According to CBSE officials, the board expects to evaluate around 10 million Class 12 answer books through OSM this year. The officials said that teachers have been instructed to check 20 to 25 answer books in eight hours to ensure accuracy, and remuneration per copy will be increased from ₹30 per answer book. However, they did not share the exact amount as “it is yet to be finalized.”
School administrators welcomed the reform but flagged potential challenges.
Sudha Acharya, principal of Delhi-based ITL Public School, said the system would minimise human errors and enable faster evaluation, but added that “OSM involves updated digital infrastructure in schools which can be an issue, and long screen hours may affect teachers’ wellbeing.”
Jyoti Arora, principal of Mount Abu School, Rohini in Delhi, said the reform could modernise assessment but stressed that “reliable connectivity, adequate infrastructure and teacher training would be crucial.”
Responding to concerns, Bhardwaj said all teachers teaching Classes 11 and 12 will be deployed for OSM and provided training before evaluation begins. “CBSE will conduct multiple dry runs, webinars and capacity-building sessions, and schools will be supported to ensure readiness for the new system.”