The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has reduced fees for obtaining answer sheets, verification and re-evaluation for Class XII board examinations, amid concerns over the use of On-Screen Marking (OSM).

Under the revised structure, the fee for a scanned copy of an evaluated answer sheet has been reduced from Rs 700 to Rs 100 per subject. Verification fees have been cut from Rs 500 to Rs 100, and re-evaluation charges lowered from Rs 100 to Rs 25 per question.

The move follows concerns raised by students and teachers regarding OSM, a system in which scanned answer scripts are evaluated digitally. The Class XII pass percentage declined from 88% to 85% this year, prompting questions about its impact.

Officials said the marking scheme and moderation policy remain unchanged. School education secretary Sanjay Kumar stated there was no direct correlation between OSM and the decline in results, noting that examination outcomes vary annually.

CBSE chairperson Rahul Singh said artificial intelligence was not used in evaluation, adding that only the mode of marking had changed from physical to digital.

According to officials, around 98.6 lakh answer sheets were assessed digitally, while 13,853 scripts were evaluated manually due to illegibility after scanning.

The board said OSM, first piloted in 2014, has been implemented following improvements in digital infrastructure and examiner training. It added that the system reduces totalling errors and improves adherence to marking schemes.

Students can apply for scanned copies between 19 and 22 May, and for verification and re-evaluation between 26 and 29 May.

Also Read: Ministry of Education says on-screen marking did not affect CBSE Class 12 results