New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is considering a major reform that could allow students to access scanned copies of their answer sheets directly through DigiLocker from the 2027 academic session, officials said.
At present, CBSE uploads Class 10 and Class 12 marksheets to students’ DigiLocker accounts immediately after results are declared. Under the proposed system, scanned answer sheets for all subjects would also be made available alongside the digital marksheets.
The move is aimed at improving transparency in the examination and evaluation process and would enable students to review their answer sheets before deciding whether to apply for re-evaluation.
According to officials, students would be able to access their scanned answer sheets through DigiLocker and then submit requests for re-evaluation, if required.
The proposal comes amid concerns raised over the board’s On-Screen Marking (OSM) system following the declaration of Class 12 results this year.
During the ongoing re-evaluation process, several students reportedly received scanned answer sheets belonging to other candidates. After a complaint by a student named Vedant, CBSE acknowledged that another student, Sanjana, had also been sent an incorrect answer sheet before receiving the correct one. Reports indicate that at least 20 students received wrongly scanned answer sheets.
The board’s immediate focus, however, remains completing the delayed Class 12 re-evaluation process, which has been affected by technical glitches on the CBSE website.
Officials from the Education Ministry said the OSM system handled a massive volume of answer sheets this year. Nearly 98 lakh answer sheets, comprising more than 40 crore pages, were scanned and processed under the digital evaluation system.
A senior ministry official said around 68,000 answer sheets were initially flagged because of poor scan quality and had to be rescanned. Even after the second round of scanning, more than 13,000 answer sheets failed to meet readability standards and were therefore evaluated manually.
Despite the recent issues, officials clarified that the OSM system will continue to be used for board examinations.
“International universities and schools use this system for evaluation. OSM will remain in place,” a senior official said.
If implemented, the proposed DigiLocker integration of answer sheets could mark one of the most significant transparency measures introduced by CBSE in recent years, allowing students easier access to their evaluated scripts and potentially reducing disputes during the re-evaluation process.
