The Union Government has reshuffled the top leadership of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), appointing senior IAS officer Lokhande Prashant Sitaram as the board’s new chairman and Varun Bhardwaj as secretary amid mounting scrutiny of the board’s digital answer-sheet evaluation process.
The appointments were announced shortly after former chairman Rahul Singh and secretary Himanshu Gupta were moved out of their positions as questions continued to surface over the implementation of the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system used in Class 12 examinations.
Sitaram, a 2001-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, is currently serving as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs. Bhardwaj, a 2008-batch Indian Information Service officer, has been working as a director in the Ministry of Education.
Inquiry Panel Formed
In a parallel development, the Centre has constituted a one-member inquiry committee under S. Radha Chauhan, Chairperson of the Capacity Building Commission, to examine the procurement and implementation of services linked to the OSM platform.
The panel has been empowered to seek assistance from various government departments and has been directed to submit its findings to the Department of Personnel and Training within one month.
Questions Over Digital Evaluation
The controversy erupted after several Class 12 students claimed that scanned answer sheets made available during the verification process appeared inconsistent with their handwriting, leading to concerns about possible discrepancies in the digital evaluation mechanism.
Parents and students have also raised issues regarding technical problems, delays in processing requests, and payment-related glitches associated with the system. The complaints have intensified calls for greater transparency and accountability in the examination and re-evaluation process.
With a new leadership team in place and a formal inquiry underway, the focus is now on restoring confidence in the board’s examination assessment framework.
