Thousands of students who appeared for the Class 10+2 exams conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) are facing anxiety and uncertainty as technical glitches on the board’s online portal continue to hamper the submission of applications for revaluation of answer sheets.
Students across Ropar district alleged that they have been unable to access or complete the revaluation process since May 19, when the portal for applying for verification and rechecking of answer sheets was opened by the CBSE. The application window, originally scheduled to close on May 22, was later extended till May 23 after the board acknowledged technical issues affecting the portal.
Several students and parents claimed that the website repeatedly crashes or fails to process payment and application details, leaving candidates worried about missing the deadline.
“I have been trying continuously for the last three days, but every time the website either hangs or logs me out,” said a student from Ropar who wants revaluation in Physics and Mathematics. “My parents and I visited two cyber cafes, but the portal still did not work. We are under tremendous stress because our future admissions depend on these marks.”
Another student from Anandpur Sahib said he had been trying to submit his application since the opening day.
“The payment gateway fails repeatedly. We are scared that if the portal does not function properly before the deadline, many students will lose the opportunity to apply for rechecking,” he said.
School authorities confirmed that students have been approaching them in large numbers seeking assistance. The principal of a CBSE-affiliated school in the district, requesting anonymity, said panic among students has increased due to uncertainty over the portal’s functioning.
“Many students have not been able to complete the process even till today morning. We have sent emails to the CBSE regarding the issue and requested that either the deadline be extended further or the portal be stabilised immediately,” the principal said.
According to sources, the unusually high number of students applying for revaluation this year appears to be one of the major reasons behind the technical problems. The overall pass percentage in the CBSE Class 12 examinations reportedly dropped to nearly 85 per cent this year, lower than previous years, leading to a surge in applications from dissatisfied students.
Sources in the education sector also raised concerns over the digital evaluation process adopted by the CBSE this year. Under the new system, scanned copies of answer sheets were digitally sent to evaluators instead of physical copies.
Several teachers who served as evaluators alleged that some scanned answer sheets were blurred or unclear, making assessment difficult and potentially affecting the accuracy of marking.
“Teachers had informally complained during evaluation itself that many scanned pages were not clearly visible. Students now fear that genuine mistakes may have occurred in checking,” said a senior teacher associated with the evaluation process.
With an unprecedented number of students seeking verification and revaluation, the CBSE portal has reportedly struggled to handle heavy traffic and process applications smoothly.
Meanwhile, students and parents continued visiting schools, cyber cafes and coaching centres in an attempt to submit applications before the revised deadline.
Repeated attempts to contact the CBSE regional office through phone calls and WhatsApp messages failed to elicit any official response regarding the exact nature of the glitches or whether the deadline would be extended further.
The ongoing uncertainty has left thousands of students in limbo at a crucial time when many are preparing applications for university admissions and competitive courses.
