By Vishu Adhana
New Delhi [India] June 3 : Teachers who participated in the dry run of the Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) Online screening mechanism (OSM) have alleged that the exercise was largely limited to testing server capacity and failed to adequately assess operational challenges that later emerged during the nationwide rollout of the system.
Their claims stand in contrast to CBSE's own description of the pilot exercise, in which the Board said the dry run helped identify shortcomings in the system and led to several modifications before implementation.
CBSE controller of examinations Samyam Bhardwaj did not respond to a phone call seeking a response regarding teachers' allegations.
The OSM system, introduced for digital evaluation of board examination answer sheets, has come under scrutiny following complaints from students and teachers regarding portal glitches, mismatched answer books and issues related to scanned copies.
A teacher involved in both the OSM dry run and the subsequent evaluation process told ANI that the pilot exercise did not comprehensively examine how the system would function during large-scale implementation.
"The dry run was just to check whether the servers could handle the load. They did not analyse all the problems that could arise during actual checking," the teacher said.
The pilot exercise was conducted in Delhi in January and involved representatives from five schools. According to CBSE, teachers from Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas, state government schools and private schools participated in the exercise after receiving training on the system.
However, teachers who participated in the exercise claimed that no detailed feedback was sought from them.
Jasper Jordy, a Mathematics TGT who participated in the dry run and later evaluated Class XII answer sheets through OSM, said the biggest difference between the pilot exercise and actual evaluation was the quality of scanned answer books.
"During the dry run, the sample size was small, and the scanned copies were much clearer. During the actual evaluation, many scanned answer sheets were not of the quality that we had been promised. We were told the copies would be HD quality," he said.
According to Jordy, evaluators were given an option to reject blurred or unclear scanned copies and send them back for reprocessing. However, he said the decision ultimately rested with individual evaluators.
"Some teachers may have proceeded with unclear copies to avoid delays and complications," he said.
Another teacher associated with the exercise alleged that there was no independent monitoring mechanism during the dry run.
"A portal was provided to school heads for monitoring, but CBSE itself did not monitor whether teachers had completed proper training or whether the dry run was being conducted effectively," the teacher said.
The teacher further claimed that the exercise focused primarily on server performance rather than operational issues.
"They checked whether the server could take the load. The system is not only about servers. They did not analyse the kind of problems that appeared below the surface during actual implementation," the teacher added.
The allegations assume significance in light of recommendations reportedly made during discussions on OSM implementation. According to documents reviewed by ANI, the CBSE Governing Body had advised that OSM initially be introduced in subjects with a smaller volume of answer books as a trial before wider implementation.
However, the Board proceeded with a nationwide rollout for the 2026 board examinations after conducting training programmes beginning in January.
Board examinations for Classes X and XII were held between February and April, with answer books processed through the OSM portal. Following the declaration of results in May, the system faced criticism over technical issues, including portal crashes and complaints regarding scanned answer books.
In a document on OSM uploaded by CBSE on May 18, the Board maintained that the dry run had been specifically designed to assess the feasibility of the system and identify areas requiring modification.
According to CBSE, teachers were first trained on the platform before a two-day dry run was conducted in five schools. The Board said prominent principals were deputed as observers to monitor the exercise and submit reports on the suitability of the system, along with recommendations.
CBSE stated that the exercise provided a "blueprint" for modifications required in the platform. Among the changes cited by the Board were the addition of a save option, simplification of mark deletion procedures, resolution of static IP issues, repositioning of marks that obscured student responses, introduction of colour coding for evaluators and reviewers, integration of marking schemes with answer books, inclusion of standard comments and upgrading server capacity.
The Board also said teachers were trained through webinars, online sessions, mock evaluations, instructional videos, circulars, doubt-clearing sessions and hands-on practice exercises.
CBSE further stated that evaluators were provided unrestricted access to the platform for practice and that answer books were scanned using specialised lamp scanners capable of digitising answer books without removing pages from the binding.