CBSE Slashes Revaluation Fee to Rs 100, Students to Get Full Refund if Marks Change

New Delhi: Amid students concerns regarding low marks and falling pass percentages, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Sunday has announced a revised fee structure for photocopying, verification, and re-evaluation of answer sheets. 

What did the official say?

While addressing these concerns at a press conference on Sunday, Sanjay Kumar, Secretary of the Department of School Education and Literacy announced exact fees. 

The government clarified that children's interests are paramount and that if a student's scores increase after rechecking, their full fees will be refunded.

We will charge a fee of Rs 100 from any student who wishes to view their answer sheets," he said. 

"A separate fee of Rs 100 applies if they wish to have their papers validated; and a fee of Rs 25 applies for the re-checking of the answer to any specific question."

While explaining the refund policy, Sanjay Kumar said that, "We have decided that if, during the scrutiny process, a student's marks increase or are revised upwards, we will refund the entire amount paid by them for the re-evaluation."

What is the reason of digital checking?

In an official statement to the media, Sanjay Kumar acknowledged the decline in results this year. He stated that the CBSE recently announced Class 12 results using the "On-Screen Marking" (OSM) system for checking answer sheets. This has raised some concerns.

Students, in particular, feel that the overall pass percentage has declined. In fact, the pass percentage has dropped by 3 per cent compared to last year, dropping from 88 per cent to 85 per cent. Some students also feel that they should have received higher marks than they actually received.

Clarifying this new method of digital checking, he further said, "As you are aware, the Class 12 results recently declared by the CBSE were marked using an On-Screen Marking (OSM) system this time. Following this, certain concerns have been raised-specifically, students feel that the overall pass percentage has declined. Indeed, the pass percentage has dropped by 3 per cent compared to the previous year, falling from 88 per cent to 85 per cent. Some students feel that they should have received higher marks than those actually awarded to them. I would like to emphasise that On-Screen Marking is neither a novel concept nor is this the first time it has been implemented. The CBSE first initiated the OSM system in 2014; however, at that time, due to technical infrastructure limitations, it was deemed unfeasible to continue the process immediately. We have successfully reintroduced it this year."

What about new re-evaluation rules and fee structure?

Education Secretary has announced new re-evaluation procedures and fees for students:

• To view an answer sheet: A fee of Rs 100 per student.
• For copy verification: A separate fee of Rs 100 will apply.
• For rechecking a specific question: A fee of Rs 25 per question has been set.

While making a big announcement, the Education Secretary said that we have decided that if the marks of any student increase or improve during this scrutiny process, then we will refund the entire amount paid by them for re-evaluation.

The Ministry assured students that the welfare of children is paramount to us, stating that whether it is the Ministry of Education or the CBSE, the welfare and concerns of all our children are paramount to us. Therefore, we want to ensure that no child, for any reason, feels that they have received less marks than they deserve based on their ability or actual performance in the answers written during the examination. The provision for re-evaluation has always been part of the CBSE framework.