“During the dry run, the sample size was small, and the scanned copies were much clearer. During the actual evaluation, many scanned answer sheets were not of the quality that we had been promised. We
were told the copies would be HD quality,” Jasper Jordy, a Mathematics TGT who participated in the pilot and later evaluated Class 12 answer sheets through the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) OSM system told ANI.
Echoing Jordy, several teachers who took part in the dry run of the On Screen Marking (OSM) system said the exercise was largely restricted to testing server capacity and did not adequately assess operational challenges that later surfaced during the nationwide rollout.
Another teacher who was involved in both the dry run and the subsequent evaluation said the pilot failed to simulate large-scale conditions. “The dry run was just to check whether the servers could handle the load. They did not analyse all the problems that could arise during actual checking,” the teacher said.
Their claims differ from CBSE’s official position that the pilot helped identify system gaps and led to key modifications before implementation. The pilot was conducted in Delhi in January and involved representatives from five schools.
According to CBSE, teachers from Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas, state government and private schools participated after undergoing training. However, participating teachers said no structured feedback was sought from them.
Jordy also noted that while evaluators had the option to reject blurred or unclear scanned copies for reprocessing, the final call rested with individual teachers. “Some teachers may have proceeded with unclear copies to avoid delays and complications,” he said.
Another teacher alleged the absence of independent oversight during the dry run. School heads were given access to a monitoring portal, but CBSE did not verify whether proper training had been completed or whether the exercise was being conducted effectively, the teacher said.
The teacher further claimed that the exercise focused mainly on server performance rather than operational preparedness. “They checked whether the server could take the load. The system is not only about servers. They did not analyse the kind of problems that appeared below the surface during actual implementation,” the teacher added.
Documents reviewed by ANI show that the CBSE Governing Body had recommended introducing OSM gradually, starting with subjects that have fewer answer scripts. Despite this, the Board proceeded with a nationwide rollout for the 2026 board examinations after initiating training in January.
In a document released on May 18, CBSE said the dry run was designed to test feasibility and identify areas for improvement.
According to the Board, teachers were trained on the platform before a two-day pilot was conducted in five schools under the supervision of senior principals, who submitted reports and recommendations.
CBSE said the exercise provided a “blueprint” for platform upgrades, including the addition of a save option, simplification of mark deletion, resolution of static IP issues, repositioning of marks that obscured responses, colour coding for evaluators and reviewers, integration of marking schemes with answer books, inclusion of standard comments and enhancement of server capacity.
The Board also said training was conducted through webinars, online sessions, mock evaluations, instructional videos, circulars and doubt-clearing sessions, along with hands-on practice. It added that evaluators were given unrestricted access to the platform for practice and that answer books were digitised using specialised scanners capable of scanning bound copies without removing pages.
CBSE Controller of Examinations Sanyam Bhardwaj did not respond to requests for comment on the teachers’ allegations.
