Last Updated:May 17, 2026, 15:44 IST

Around 13,000 answer sheets could not be fully processed digitally because the handwriting or ink used by students was too light to be read clearly after scanning.

Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy (Credits: ANI)

The Centre on Sunday explained why students appearing for CBSE board examinations should avoid using light coloured ink while writing their answers, saying it created major difficulties during the digital evaluation process this year.

Speaking in Delhi, Sanjay Kumar, Secretary of the Department of School Education and Literacy, said the evaluation of Class 12 board examinations was carried out through large scale digital scanning and on screen marking to improve accuracy and reduce human error.

According to Kumar, answer sheets of nearly 98 lakh students were scanned and converted into PDF copies before evaluation.

“This time when the 12th class exams were conducted, the answer sheets were scanned, and their PDF copies were made. The total number of answer sheets of 98 lakh students who took the examination was scanned, and three levels of security were also maintained in scanning,” he said.

He added that the digital system helped eliminate mistakes that sometimes occurred during manual totalling of marks.

“One advantage of this has been that the mistakes that sometimes used to happen in totalling have been completely eliminated. This decision was taken, and teachers were trained in this,” Kumar said.

However, the official revealed that around 13,000 answer sheets could not be properly scanned because students had used very light coloured ink, making the writing difficult to read digitally.

“Ultimately, it was also found that in the end, we had about 13,000 such answer sheets, which we found that no matter how many times we scanned them, there was some illegibility in them because the ink used was of very light colour, so after scanning, we were not able to make that legible,” he said.

Kumar said those answer sheets were later separated and checked manually to ensure students did not face any disadvantage.

“The teachers were told that the 13,000 answer sheets were taken out and checked manually, and after checking manually, the marks obtained on those were introduced by us,” he added.

The official said special attention had been given to maintaining security and ensuring accurate marking through the on screen evaluation system.

“I would like to say that special attention has been given to the security level and the issues, so that the marking done through on screen marking is accurate,” Kumar said.

The remarks come days after CBSE board results were announced and amid growing use of digital technology in India’s examination and evaluation systems.

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