CBSE responds to complaints over students scoring higher in JEE than Class 12 Boards

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has responded to mounting concerns from students and parents over Class 12 Board marks, particularly from candidates who performed well in competitive engineering exams such as JEE Main but scored significantly lower in their Board examinations.

Addressing the issue, Department of School Education and Literacy Secretary Sanjay Kumar said the discrepancy between competitive exam scores and Board marks was “an every year issue” and not unique to the 2026 examination cycle.

“This is an every year issue. Petitions are filed every year. Our appeal to students is to use the re-evaluation mechanism,” Kumar told NDTV while responding to questions about students obtaining high percentile scores in JEE but lower-than-expected marks in CBSE Class 12 exams.

The controversy gained momentum after several students claimed online that they had scored above the 95 or 97 percentile range in JEE Main but received relatively low marks in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics in their Board exams.

Some students argued that the lower Board scores could affect their eligibility for admissions to premier engineering institutes, including IITs, where candidates are also required to meet minimum Class 12 performance criteria alongside clearing JEE Advanced.

Under current admission rules, candidates seeking admission to IITs must either secure at least 75% aggregate marks in Class 12 or rank among the top 20 percentile of their respective Boards.

Much of the criticism has centred around CBSE’s newly implemented On-Screen Marking (OSM) system, under which answer sheets are scanned and evaluated digitally instead of being checked physically.

Students and parents have alleged that diagrams, rough work and portions of handwritten answers may have been overlooked during the scanning and evaluation process. Some also claimed the marking this year appeared stricter compared to previous years.

In response, CBSE defended the digital evaluation system, saying only the “medium” of checking had changed and not the marking scheme itself. The Board said OSM was introduced to improve efficiency, transparency and monitoring during evaluation.

According to reports, nearly 68,000 answer sheets had to be rescanned due to image quality issues, while around 13,000 copies were evaluated manually after scanning failures.

CBSE officials said dry runs, teacher training sessions and technical demonstrations had been conducted before the rollout of the system.

The concerns have emerged alongside a dip in overall CBSE Class 12 performance this year. CBSE declared the 2026 Class 12 results with an overall pass percentage of 85.20%, lower than last year’s 88.39%.

Education experts have attributed the decline partly to stricter evaluation standards and greater emphasis on conceptual understanding rather than step-based scoring patterns often used by students preparing for competitive exams.

The difference between Board examination performance and competitive exam scores is also linked to the distinct nature of the two assessments. While JEE Main is objective and concept-driven with multiple-choice questions, Board exams test descriptive writing, presentation, stepwise explanations and adherence to prescribed marking schemes.

CBSE has urged students dissatisfied with their scores to use the official post-result grievance and re-evaluation process instead of relying on speculation around the evaluation system.

The Board has also opened tele-counselling and email support services to assist students and parents dealing with result-related concerns and evaluation doubts.

Meanwhile, discussions around the OSM system and Board marking patterns continue across student and parent communities, especially among engineering aspirants preparing for counselling and admissions.