Hacking claims, mismatched answer-sheets: Controversies rock school exam in India

Students blame the CBSE's newly-launched digital evaluation system used for marking this year's Grade 12 exams. CBSE OSM: Controversies rock crucial school-leaving exam in India Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Around two million students appeared for the CBSE's school-leaving exam this year Students check their results on mobile phones after the declaration of the CBSE Class XII results at the premises of St. Thomas' School on May 13, 2026 in New Delhi, India. Hacking claims, mismatched answer-sheets: Controversies rock school exam in India What began as one student's viral complaint about a mismatch between the physical and digital copies of his Grade 12 physics answer sheet has snowballed into a major controversy around one of India's biggest and most important school-leaving exams. Days after the government-run Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announced its Grade 12 - equivalent to UK's A level - results, dozens of students complained about errors in their marks allegedly linked to a newly-launched digital evaluation system used in the exam. Called On-Screen Marking (OSM), the system works by scanning physical copies of answer-sheets and uploading them on an online portal for teachers to evaluate. A software then calculates total marks in each exam. According to the education board, the system was introduced to reduce human error and effort and to increase transparency and efficiency. A software then calculates total marks in each exam. , the system was introduced to reduce human error and effort and to increase transparency and efficiency. While students often reported errors in manual evaluation, they say the new system has caused new problems instead of fixing old ones. Some say the scanned copies of answer sheets were blurry, which may have affected marks. Others say pages were missing, answers were marked wrongly, or the digital copies did not match the original paper answer sheets. CBSE has responded to the allegations by saying that it remained committed to a "fair and transparent evaluation process". by saying that it remained committed to a "fair and transparent evaluation process". "All genuine concerns related to scanned answer books or evaluation will be reviewed by subject experts through the prescribed mechanism," it said. The students' complaints have sparked national outrage and brought the education board's digital evaluation system under the scanner. Parents and educationists have questioned whether teachers received enough training and proper technology to run the new marking system effectively. For millions of Indian students, CBSE exams are not just tests - they are gateways to college admissions, careers and social mobility. CBSE is also one of the country's largest education boards, with about two million students taking the Grade 12 exam this year. India also has state-run, private and international school boards. Students protest against the cancellation of the 2026 Neet exam, the gateway to studying medicine in India Members of the Students' Federation of India protest against the National Testing Agency (NTA) after the cancellation of the NEET examination over an alleged paper leak, in Chennai on May 14, 2026. Another reason why this issue has made national headlines is because it comes on the back of a controversy surrounding another crucial exam - the National Eligibility Entrance Test (Undergraduate), known as NEET-UG - which is the gateway to studying medicine in India. Allegations of a paper leak in May led to the exam being cancelled, impacting nearly 2.28 million candidates who wrote the test, and leading to a spate of alleged suicides. led to the exam being cancelled, impacting nearly 2.28 million candidates who wrote the test, and leading to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of neglecting the country's youth. He also demanded the education minister's resignation over the controversies, alleging the system was rigged and students had to turn to social media for justice. The minister hasn't responded to Gandhi's allegations yet. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of neglecting the country's youth. He also demanded the over the controversies, alleging the system was rigged and students had to turn to social media for justice. The minister hasn't responded to Gandhi's allegations yet. On X, Gandhi highlighted the case of Vedant Srivastava, a CBSE student who alleged his answer sheet had been swapped. Srivastava said on X that after seeking a re-evaluation of his physics paper, he found the scanned copy shared by CBSE was not his, citing different handwriting and answers to questions he had not attempted. that after seeking a re-evaluation of his physics paper, he found the scanned copy shared by CBSE was not his, citing different handwriting and answers to questions he had not attempted. "I studied for an entire year. I sacrificed sleep, peace of mind, outings, everything for these exams. And now I don't even know whether my actual physics paper was checked. Do students really deserve this?" he wrote. His post went viral, triggering a wave of similar complaints from other students. Many shared screenshots that appeared to show mismatched answer sheets and incorrect marking. On Monday, CBSE said it had emailed Srivastava the "correct copy" of his answer sheet, without explaining the alleged mismatch. Screenshots the student then shared appeared to show manual marking in red ink, unlike the green tick marks used in the digital evaluation system. it had emailed Srivastava the "correct copy" of his answer sheet, without explaining the alleged mismatch. Screenshots the student then shared appeared to show , unlike the green tick marks used in the digital evaluation system. CBSE is one of India's largest and most popular education boards A view of Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) headquarters situated at Preet Vihar in New Delhi on July 13, 2020. The CBSE has announced the result for class 12 examination earlier during the day. According to the education board, as of Tuesday, more than 400,000 students had applied for scanned copies of their answer-sheets and about 1.1 million had requested physical copies. According to the education board, as of Tuesday, had applied for scanned copies of their answer-sheets and about 1.1 million had requested physical copies. Some students complained that they faced technical glitches while applying for copies of their answer sheets, prompting federal Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to send a team of experts from India's top technology colleges to assist CBSE in ensuring a "glitch-free re-evaluation process". Some students complained that they faced technical glitches while applying for copies of their answer sheets, prompting federal Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to from India's top technology colleges to assist CBSE in ensuring a "glitch-free re-evaluation process". Students have also raised concerns about the security of the exam portal after another CBSE student claimed he hacked into it in February and was able to access evaluators' accounts. Nisarga Adhikary, who describes himself as an "ethical hacker", told the BBC he was able to crack the master password for the system, gaining access to student records, answer sheets and evaluators' accounts. "With that kind of access, one can tamper with the answer-sheets, change marks or even access peoples' phone numbers and bank details," he alleged. Adhikary said he flagged around six-to-seven security vulnerabilities he perceived in the portal to India's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN) - a federal agency that deals with cyber-security incidents - in a series of emails, which the BBC has seen. Adhikary has also posted his findings on his X account and blog. Adhikary said he flagged around six-to-seven security vulnerabilities he perceived in the portal to India's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN) - a federal agency that deals with cyber-security incidents - in a series of emails, which the BBC has seen. Adhikary has also posted his findings on his X account and On Tuesday, CBSE denied the allegations, claiming that "no security breaches have come to light on the portal deployed for the actual evaluation work". , claiming that "no security breaches have come to light on the portal deployed for the actual evaluation work". It added that the URL flagged as being compromised was a "testing site" and that "no actual evaluation data, marks or other data [were] held on that portal". However, Adhikary claims that after logging into the portal, he could view scanned answer sheets and independently verify the personal details of one evaluator whose account he accessed. "If this was a test portal, why was this information uploaded on it?" Adhikary asked. The BBC has sent a list of questions to CBSE and CERT-IN - their response is awaited. Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, X and Facebook. Custard apple plants are prized for their hardiness but exporting their delicate fruit is difficult. Former county cricketer Roman Walker, who once took the wicket of Virat Kohli, has taken up darts since leaving Leicestershire last year Singh is facing industry backlash over his decision to exit from the upcoming Bollywood film Don 3. Duterte is facing charges relating to a long and bloody war on drugs in which thousands were killed. Rescuers in Laos have found five villagers alive inside a flooded cave after they were trapped for a week. Dong Guangping, an activist and former police officer, spent hours at sea before reaching Korean waters. The YouTuber allegedly made false claims that fuelled a career-ending scandal for Kim Soo-hyun. 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