Glitch blots on Punjab School Education Board’s paperless marking system.

Ludhiana: A landmark push by the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) to digitalise the grading of Class-X final examinations has stalled, with teachers reporting widespread technical failures that threaten the accuracy and speed of the evaluation process.The transition to "on-screen marking" for the social science exam was intended to streamline the state's massive grading operation. Instead, educators across Ludhiana describe a system riddled with server crashes and scanning errors that have turned a supposedly efficient upgrade into a bureaucratic nightmare. Teachers appointed to the evaluation panels say the official portal is frequently inaccessible. Common complaints include "502 Bad Gateway" errors, "Server Not Found" messages, and agonizingly slow processing speeds.Beyond connectivity issues, the integrity of the digital answer sheets has been called into question. "I checked the answer sheets through the on-screen system, but the portal showed missing pages and others that were scanned twice," one Ludhiana-based govt teacher said. "These are problems many of us are facing repeatedly."Accuracy ConcernsA significant point of contention is the inability to edit marks once they are entered. Unlike traditional manual grading, where a teacher can review and correct a tally, the current digital interface reportedly lacks a "redo" function. This has sparked concerns among staff regarding the ultimate fairness and accuracy of the results for the Class-X students.The education department anticipated some friction during the rollout, organising "dummy" evaluation sessions and providing a technical support team for the transition. However, teachers argue these measures have proven insufficient for the scale of the glitches.For a workforce accustomed to manual grading for decades, the shift was already a significant cultural change. Educators now maintain that the "glitch-heavy" online system is far more time-consuming than the traditional pen-and-paper method it was meant to replace. The PSEB has yet to announce whether it will extend the grading deadline or provide a manual fallback option to ensure results are released on schedule.