Indian expatriate students in the UAE are among those struggling despite the board extending the deadline.
Students of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class 12 have been hit by technical glitches on the re-evaluation portal, leaving many unable to challenge their exam results. The issue has affected hundreds of students, including Indian expatriates in the United Arab Emirates, who were attempting to request a review of their answer sheets.
Many students reported repeated login failures, delayed access to scanned answer scripts, and payment errors on the portal, even as they expressed dissatisfaction with marks linked to the On-Screen Marking (OSM) evaluation system.
In response to widespread complaints, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) extended the deadline on Tuesday from May 22 to May 23 for obtaining scanned copies of evaluated answer books. The board said the extension was due to technical issues on its website and was intended to ensure students had sufficient time to complete the process.
Shortly after 10am on Wednesday, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) issued a fresh update acknowledging that the technical issues were continuing.
“The online application for obtaining scanned copies of Class XII answer books is temporarily facing technical glitches,” the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) said, adding that a team of experts was working to resolve the issue and that the portal was expected to be restored by 2pm IST (12:30pm in the United Arab Emirates).
The board had earlier reduced re-evaluation fees on May 17 from Rs 100 to Rs 25 per question and said refunds would be issued if marks improved. It also lowered the cost of obtaining scanned answer copies from Rs 700 to Rs 100 to make the grievance process more accessible.
Urging patience, the board advised students seeking scanned copies for re-evaluation to use the facility once it resumed. It added that those requesting copies for archival purposes would be given access after the re-evaluation process was completed, asking students to wait until the service was fully restored.
For many families in the United Arab Emirates, patience has begun to wear thin.
Several students and parents reported trying again after 12:30pm UAE time, as advised, but continued to face unresolved technical issues on the portal.
Parents and students told that repeated attempts to access the system—from the UAE as well as through relatives in India—kept failing, with error messages such as: “This site can’t be reached” or “the site is under updation (sic).”
Students and parents are now urging the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to extend the deadline further, saying the situation requires additional time to complete the re-evaluation process properly.
Dubai resident Arun Balakrishnan, whose daughter is among those affected, described a frustrating two-day struggle to access the portal. He said both he and his daughter repeatedly tried logging in from the previous morning, eventually managing to create a profile after late-night attempts, but were still unable to complete payment. They continued trying until 11:30pm and resumed again at 4am.
“We feel completely helpless,” he said. “Students need to access their answer books, compare them with the marking scheme, and ideally review them with teachers before deciding on re-evaluation. That process takes time, and every hour of delay makes things worse.”
Arun added that even if the portal becomes accessible again later in the day, another surge in traffic could likely cause it to crash once more.
He also pointed to what he described as an unusually high number of re-evaluation requests this year, attributing it to concerns over the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system and a perceived drop in student scores.
“Until last year, far fewer students opted for re-evaluation. This year, applications are much higher because the OSM system appears to have led to a widespread decline in marks,” he said.
He added that university admissions are now at stake for many students, with parents—himself included—already having met school principals and administrators to raise concerns about unexpectedly low results among consistently high-performing students.
“Our primary concern is how these marks will be considered in university admissions, especially where institutions apply subject-wise weightage,” he said.
His daughter, who had performed strongly in the JEE engineering entrance exam in India, scored 84% overall in Grade 12—significantly lower than the 90% her school had predicted.
“Parents like us are worried about how Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics scores will be evaluated for admission to competitive universities that are unlikely to relax their cut-off requirements. We urge the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to extend the deadline further so that every student seeking re-evaluation has a fair opportunity to improve their marks.”
Another parent, Mariam B, described her daughter’s Mathematics result as particularly distressing.
“She had scored 95 out of 100 in Mathematics in Grade 10, but her Class 12 score dropped to just 58. Because of this one subject’s mark, she may be excluded from several universities we had already shortlisted. Her overall score is 79%. She has never scored below 90% before. She was on track for 95% and eligibility for her preferred institutions, and even the UAE Golden Visa,” Mariam said.
She added that the timing had worked against UAE-based students in multiple ways. Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had cancelled several Class 12 exams across the UAE and neighbouring countries amid regional tensions.
According to Mariam, her daughter’s school completed the syllabus by October and conducted mock exams in early November, leaving students underprepared. With JEE scheduled for January, students had little choice but to prioritise entrance exam preparation through November and December. She also said that despite repeated parental requests, the school did not conduct additional assessments.
Parents allege that when the board later allowed schools in the region to adopt an alternative assessment scheme, the marks submitted did not accurately reflect students’ academic potential.
“In previous years, over 70% of Class 12 students scored above 90%. This year, that figure has dropped sharply to just 17%, with most of those high scorers coming from commerce and humanities streams rather than science,” Mariam said.
She warned that the impact could extend far beyond school results.
“This will follow these students into campus placements and postgraduate applications. An entire cohort’s future has been put at risk by decisions that were not theirs to make.”
Payment woes
Practical difficulties are adding another layer of stress for overseas students, with parents saying that such issues appear to have been underestimated by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).
Parents told Gulf News that the portal’s payment system does not accept non-Indian bank cards. They said Google Pay does not work from the United Arab Emirates, and that one-time passwords required for Indian credit card transactions are being sent to Indian mobile numbers, creating additional barriers for overseas applicants.
One parent said they had to rely on a relative in India to complete the payment process, noting that no practical alternative had been provided for students abroad despite the known international user base.
Parents also said the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) regional office in Dubai was aware of the issue but had not yet offered a resolution at the time of reporting.
They added that re-evaluation and improvement exams remain the only options available, with academic stakes extremely high—but for many students, even accessing the portal remains the first and most difficult hurdle.
Mariam said students in this batch had been pursuing their academic goals for over a year, but their experience had become extremely stressful.
“Several students have been studying continuously for 16 months without any real break. Normally, they would get a vacation after their March exams, but after Grade 12 they had to immediately prepare for JEE and other college entrance tests,” she said.
She added that with improvement exams now scheduled for June 15 and July 15, students would face an extended period of continuous academic pressure.
“This means they will be under constant strain for around 16 months. This is truly the most unfortunate batch—they have gone through disruptions, system glitches, and multiple challenges,” she said.
