CBSE announces refunds for students charged extra during revaluation

New Delhi: Amid mounting complaints of technical glitches in the Class XII post-result process, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Sunday assured students that any excess fee deducted while applying for scanned copies of evaluated answer sheets would be refunded automatically.The board acknowledged in a circular that “certain technical issues led to incorrect fee deductions” on May 21 and 22 during the online application process. “In some instances, excess payment was deducted, while in others, lesser amounts were charged,” it said.The board clarified that “in all cases of excess payment, the exact excess amounts shall be refunded to the same payment method which was used.” Candidates who paid less than the prescribed fee would be informed separately and may be asked to pay the balance amount, if required.CBSE added that “scanned copies of the evaluated answer books shall be provided in all such cases, without candidates being required to submit fresh requests”.Sunday was the last day for students to obtain scanned copies of their answer sheets under the revised schedule announced by the board. The deadline has already been extended twice after students and parents reported portal crashes, payment failures and delays in accessing scanned copies.The development comes amid complaints from students who have have raised doubts about the functioning of the online examination and re-evaluation system, pointing to multiple technical and administrative glitches that disrupted the application process.Among the most alarming issues was an unusual spike in fee displays, where several candidates reported seeing incorrect charges. In some cases, the portal allegedly demanded as much as Rs 69,420 per subject for re-evaluation, far higher than the expected nominal fee, leaving students confused and worried about possible billing errors.There were also payment-related failures during registration. Many users said their accounts were debited successfully, yet the system continued to show the transaction as unsuccessful, forcing applicants to wonder if their forms were actually submitted.Students also flagged problems with the quality of the uploaded answer sheets provided for verification. The scanned copies made available for download were blurry, poorly rendered or completely unreadable, undermining the entire purpose of the re-evaluation. Compounding these issues, repeated server crashes and “site under maintenance” messages were reported, especially during peak hours and near to the deadline, making it difficult for students to complete their applications.