Signing you in

In a letter addressed to the minister, the association attributed the fall in pass percentage to shortcomings in the newly introduced On-Screen Marking (OSM) system, which was implemented by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for Class 12 evaluations in 2026.

READ | Firm roped in by CBSE under scanner for Telangana exam mess; may be fined

The Capital’s two CBSE regions — Delhi-East and Delhi-West — both witnessed a fall in results. Delhi-West recorded a pass percentage of 92.34%, down from 95.37% last year, while Delhi-East fell to 91.73% from 95.06%.

The association said it had earlier suggested that the OSM system should first be introduced on a pilot basis and expanded only after assessing its feasibility and effectiveness.

Also Read | CBSE says OSM tender followed rules, rejects Rahul Gandhi’s claims

According to GSTA, teachers and evaluators faced multiple technical and practical difficulties during the evaluation process, including blurred scanned answer sheets, incorrect uploads of answer booklets, missing pages and difficulties in reading handwritten responses on screen.

The association alleged that these issues forced evaluators to adopt “excessive caution” during marking, resulting in stricter evaluation in several cases.

GSTA further claimed that after the declaration of results, many students and parents complained that marks were lower than expected, while several students also faced difficulties during the re-evaluation process.

Referring to the broader national decline in CBSE Class 12 results this year, the association argued that teachers alone should not be held responsible for the outcome. It alleged that several teachers were issued show-cause notices and memorandums and were threatened with adverse remarks in their Annual Performance Appraisal Reports (APARs), creating stress and anxiety among the teaching community.

GSTA general secretary Ajay Veer Yadav said teachers continuously monitor students’ academic progress through remedial classes, extra classes and parent-teacher interactions, but examination results ultimately depend on individual student performance as well.

The association requested the Delhi government to treat all notices and memorandums issued to teachers regarding the Class 12 results as “null and void” and called for a supportive environment to help teachers improve future academic outcomes.

The decline in results was also accompanied by a widening gender gap in performance. In Delhi-East, 94.09% girls passed compared to 89.32% boys, while in Delhi-West, 94.73% girls cleared the examination against 90.04% boys. Last year, the pass percentages for both boys and girls were significantly higher in both regions.

Across India, girls outperformed boys by 6.73 percentage points in the CBSE Class 12 examination this year, though pass percentages declined for both groups compared to 2025.

A total of 1,799 schools and 842 examination centres conducted the exams in Delhi this year. The city also recorded the highest number of Children With Special Needs (CWSN) candidates, with more than 1,900 students appearing for the examination.

Sources had earlier suggested that the decline in pass percentage may be linked to the implementation of OSM, which aims to reduce subjectivity and ambiguity in evaluation.

In an official statement issued after the results, Central Board of Secondary Education said it had “successfully implemented OSM for the evaluation of Class 12 answer books in the 2026 Board Examinations,” describing it as the largest such exercise undertaken so far.

The board said that 98,66,622 answer books were evaluated through OSM. According to CBSE, the system eliminates totalling and uploading errors, ensures evaluation strictly according to the marking scheme, allows teachers to evaluate answer scripts remotely without physical transportation of copies, and improves transparency, confidentiality and accountability in line with reforms proposed under the National Education Policy.