CBSE Re-Evaluation Deadline Ends Amid Portal Failures and Login Issues

Thousands of students attempting to apply for scanned copies of CBSE answer sheets continued to face difficulties on Saturday as the Board’s portal remained largely inaccessible on the final day of the application process. The Central Board of Secondary Education had earlier extended the deadline from May 23 to May 24 after repeated complaints of server crashes and failed payments.

By late evening, many users were still seeing the message “Site Under Maintenance” while trying to access the portal. Students across different states reported that pages failed to load properly even after multiple refresh attempts.

Applications Surge Rapidly

According to Board officials, the response this year has been unusually high. More than 1.26 lakh applications were reportedly submitted within the first three hours after the process opened on May 19.

This is being seen as one of the highest-ever participation rates in the CBSE re-evaluation and scanned answer sheet process. Sources familiar with the matter said over 7% of candidates appearing in the examination sought either re-evaluation or photocopies of answer sheets, significantly higher than the usual 2–3% seen in previous years.

Around 17.68 lakh students appeared for the CBSE examinations this year.

Website Remains Unstable

Students and parents continued to complain about severe technical issues throughout the week. Several users said the website either crashed midway or showed “service unavailable” errors repeatedly.

According to students who spoke on social media platforms, even when the portal opened briefly, every step required repeated refreshing. Some users claimed the system became functional only during early morning hours.

Many applicants also said they completed payments days ago but had still not received scanned copies or confirmation messages from CBSE.

Payment Errors Trigger Confusion

One of the biggest concerns involved payment-related glitches. While the official fee for obtaining a photocopy of one subject answer sheet is ₹100, several students reported abnormal fee displays ranging from thousands to lakhs of rupees.

Screenshots shared online showed unexpected payment amounts appearing during checkout. In other cases, students claimed that smaller amounts were processed while standard payments repeatedly failed.

Some applicants also received conflicting notifications. According to reports, students who were informed around midday that their applications had been submitted successfully later received refund messages stating the applications had not gone through.

Minister Seeks Report

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has reportedly sought a detailed explanation regarding the technical breakdowns affecting the CBSE portal.

Officials said the issues under review include server downtime, payment failures, registration errors and complaints regarding blurred or incomplete scanned answer sheets. CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh also indicated that there had been attempts to interfere with the website without authorisation.

The Board has not yet announced whether another extension will be granted.

Login And Registration Problems

Apart from payment issues, students faced repeated login and registration failures. Many reported receiving “invalid ID” messages despite completing registration successfully.

In several cases, users attempting fresh registrations were informed that their accounts already existed in the system. Students also claimed the portal functioned intermittently on mobile devices but often failed entirely on desktop browsers.

Meanwhile, CBSE helpline numbers reportedly remained difficult to access, with many callers receiving no response.

Fake Circular Sparks Panic

Amid the confusion, a fake circular claiming cancellation of the 2026 re-evaluation process circulated widely on social media platforms.

The viral document falsely stated that CBSE had cancelled the process due to technical difficulties and would refund fees within 15 working days while treating existing marks as final.

CBSE later clarified online that the circular was fake and urged students not to rely on unofficial information.

Errors In Uploaded Answer Sheets

Students have also flagged discrepancies in scanned answer sheets already released by the Board. In one reported case from Madhya Pradesh, pages from a Business Studies answer booklet were allegedly missing, while some pages appeared duplicated in the uploaded PDF.

According to initial reports, marks for certain answers were not awarded because the relevant pages were absent from the scanned copy. Such complaints have added to concerns among students awaiting re-evaluation before further admission processes begin.

With the CBSE re-evaluation deadline closing amid continuing technical problems, many students are now waiting for clarification on whether the Board will reopen the portal or provide additional relief measures.