They gave up a year, hidden behind books, only for a system to lose their work “The whole year of studying took so much out of me. And the pressure became unbearable, because, well, it determined our future.” says Maya Jalan, 17. Then came February 2026 ,and all that labour was put to the test, …
They gave up a year, hidden behind books, only for a system to lose their work
“The whole year of studying took so much out of me. And the pressure became unbearable, because, well, it determined our future.” says Maya Jalan, 17. Then came February 2026 ,and all that labour was put to the test, under weighted expectations
‘All that, just for a computer to lose it!’ adds an exasperated Maya
Unfortunately, she is not the only one complaining.
This year, 2026, CBSE introduced On-screen Marking or OSM, for the grade 12 board exams. For the first time, at a national scale, every answer sheet was uploaded digitally to OnMark portal (cbseosm.onmark.co.in). This was supposed to allow teachers to mark it from their own schools. Faster. Modern. Right?
However, when the results were declared on May 13th, students across India received marks that made no sense. Astonishingly low scores came up for Physics, Chemistry and Maths. When they applied for photocopies, some discovered the papers they received weren’t even theirs!
Delhi student Vedant Srivastava posted what he called proof online and stated ‘I don’t even know whether my actual physics paper was checked. Do students really deserve this?’ The post shared on his social media, having been reshared 13000 times within hours, drummed up massive rage. Hundreds of similar complaints were shared, of blurred scans, unevaluated pages and mismatched uploads. The marks this year’s 12th grade received simply did not add up.
‘This was a complete disaster. The OSM system is new and untested for our board and that resulted in so much panic and fear in my house, and others. I mean, I don’t know about the internal workings but this sort of a situation is ridiculous, it’s compromising student’s lives and futures.’ Dianaa Shah, 17, Student in Kendriya Vidyalaya, Delhi
Sarthak Sidhant, 18 years old from Jharkhand allegedly researched the tender irregularities, and reports say that he presented his findings directly to a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education.
Jairam Ramesh of the Indian National Congress said plainly: “The CBSE leadership’s unceremonious exit and the constitution of a one-member inquiry committee prove that irregularities were committed. This is a testament to the ingenuity of Gen Z students, who exposed this scandal online.”
Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha has demanded the Education Minister’s resignation.
While the political blame game goes on, here is what none of that fixes: the student who missed a college cutoff by two marks. The one whose JEE rank changed because their board result was wrong. The one who spent a year studying and still doesn’t know if anyone actually read their paper. The students did not. And they made sure everyone knew it.
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