CBSE extends Class 12 verification, re-evaluation deadline to June 7 amid portal access issues

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has extended the deadline for submitting applications for Class 12 answer sheet verification and re-evaluation by one day, following complaints from students about difficulties accessing post-result services on the board's online portal.

The board announced on June 5 that students will now be able to apply until midnight on June 7, instead of the earlier deadline of midnight on June 6.

"In the interest of students, the CBSE has decided to extend the last date for submission of applications for verification and re-evaluation for the Class 12 board examinations, thereby providing students additional time and support to complete the process," the board said in a post on X.

The board added, "Students are requested to take note of the revised schedule and submit their applications accordingly."

The online portal for post-result services was launched on June 2, allowing students to seek verification of issues found in scanned copies of answer books and request re-evaluation of answers if they were dissatisfied with their marks.

CBSE had informed students that they could report problems, including missing pages, missing supplementary sheets, missing maps or graphs, blurred pages, incorrect answer books, or evaluation against a different question paper set.

The extension comes amid concerns raised by several Class 12 students who alleged that the scanned copies of answer sheets uploaded by the board did not match their handwriting.

The claims sparked questions about possible discrepancies in the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system used for evaluation.

In response to the controversy, the Cabinet Secretariat earlier announced the formation of a one-member committee to examine the procurement of services related to the OSM system by CBSE.

Separately, the board has filed a formal complaint with the Delhi Police over a series of cyber attacks targeting its post-result services portal.

In a statement, CBSE said the complaint was submitted to the Intelligence Fusion & Strategic Operations (IFSO) Unit of Delhi Police regarding "a series of coordinated and sophisticated cyber attacks" directed at the portal.

According to the board, the portal, which supports services such as verification and re-evaluation of Class 12 answer scripts, faced repeated cyber attacks over the past three days.

"The attacks involved large volumes of malicious traffic originating from multiple IP addresses within and outside the country," it said.

CBSE noted that any disruption to the portal could affect a large number of students and other stakeholders across the country.

"As the portal caters to lakhs of students across the country for availing post-result services, any disruption to its functioning has the potential to adversely impact a large number of stakeholders, cause significant public inconvenience, and affect public order and create dissatisfaction amongst students against the Board," it said.

The board said the attackers appeared to be attempting to disrupt services, block access for legitimate users, and extract information without authorization.

According to the statement, "The apparent objective of the attackers was to destabilize the platform, deny access to legitimate users, and attempt unauthorized extraction of information by the elements inimical to national interest."

CBSE said it had approached the IFSO Unit for a detailed investigation and appropriate legal action.

"In view of the nature, scale, and coordinated character of these attacks, CBSE has approached the IFSO Unit for a detailed investigation and appropriate legal action against those responsible," the statement said.

The board maintained that its systems remain secure and that no breach of data has been detected.

"It is emphasized that despite these malicious attempts, CBSE's systems and databases remain secure and uncompromised. No data breach or unauthorized access has been detected," it said.

CBSE said the attacks were successfully countered through round-the-clock monitoring and response measures, with support from cybersecurity teams of IIT Kanpur, IIT Madras, Digital India Corporation, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), CERT-In, and other central government agencies.

The board reiterated that the controversy surrounding answer sheet copies and the investigation into the OSM system remain separate from the cyber attacks, while the newly constituted committee continues to examine the procurement process related to the evaluation platform.