Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi on Monday launched a verbal attack on the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Narendra Modi-led Union government, accusing them of burdening students with additional costs to rectify mistakes in the evaluation process.
Gandhi shared a video of his interaction with students on his official ‘X’ handle, claiming that candidates are being forced to pay exorbitant charges merely to ensure their answer sheets are assessed correctly. A used a striking analogy, saying, “Beware of pickpockets- today they’re sitting inside CBSE.”
He argued that when education is treated as a commercial enterprise rather than a public service, students end up paying the price for institutional shortcomings.
Students paying to challenge evaluation
According to Gandhi, students dissatisfied with their board exam scores must navigate a multi-stage re-evaluation process involving several fees. Explaining the procedure during the conversation, a student said that the first step requires obtaining a digital scanned copy of the answer sheet, which costs Rs 100/subject.
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Once the scanned copy is received, students are required to identify possible discrepancies and then apply for re-totalling, which carries an additional charge of Rs 100/paper, regardless of whether there appears to be a calculation error.
In the final state, re-evaluation of individual questions is conducted, for which students are charged Rs 25/question. Depending on the number of answers reviewed, the total cost can translate into a significant amount of money.
Gandhi alleged, “A child might have to spend up to Rs 2,000 just to get their own answer sheet properly checked,” claiming that nearly 4 lakh students had applied for the process. He further argued that the financial burden falls unfairly on students when the alleged errors originate within the system.
Why has CBSE drawn a backlash?
The controversy stems from numerous complaints by Class 12 students who alleged that the digital copies of answer sheets made available by the CBSE did not match their handwriting, sparking concerns about possible answer-sheet mismatches during the evaluation process.
The board’s Online Scanning Module (OSM) system, introduced for Class 12 students from this year onwards, has also faced heat from sections of students and parents.
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However, the CBSE has maintained that the prescribed fee is refunded in cases where re-evaluation results in an increase in marks, a provision it says is designed to ensure fairness in the review process.