OSM controversy: Centre names Lokhande Sitaram as CBSE chairperson, Varun Bhardwaj secretary

New Delhi: In a major administrative reshuffle amid mounting controversy over the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) On-Screen Marking (OSM) system, the Central government on Tuesday appointed senior IAS officer Lokhande Prashant Sitaram as the new CBSE Chairperson and named Varun Bhardwaj as the board’s new Secretary.

The appointments came just hours after the Centre ordered a high-level inquiry into the procurement and implementation of the digital evaluation system.

According to an order approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, Lokhande Prashant Sitaram, a 2001-batch AGMUT cadre IAS officer currently serving as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, will take charge as CBSE Chairperson in the rank of Additional Secretary. He replaces Rahul Singh, a 1996-batch Bihar cadre IAS officer, who has been transferred as Additional Secretary in the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

The government has also appointed Varun Bhardwaj, a 2008-batch Indian Information Service officer and Director in the Department of Higher Education, as the new Secretary of CBSE. Bhardwaj succeeds Himanshu Gupta, an AGMUT cadre IAS officer of the 2012 batch. He will serve in the position until September 19, 2027, under the Central Staffing Scheme.

The leadership overhaul comes amid growing criticism of the OSM system introduced this year for Class 12 board examinations. Under the digital evaluation framework, examiners assessed scanned copies of answer sheets instead of physical answer books. However, students and parents have raised concerns regarding technical glitches, payment issues, delays in re-evaluation processes, and alleged irregularities in the implementation of the system.

In response to the controversy, the Centre has constituted a one-member inquiry committee headed by S. Radha Chauhan, Chairperson of the Capacity Building Commission. The committee has been tasked with examining the procurement of OSM services and investigating allegations that procurement norms may have been relaxed to favour a particular vendor. The panel has been directed to submit its findings to the Department of Personnel and Training within one month.

Meanwhile, CBSE has opened its re-evaluation portal from June 2 to June 6, allowing eligible students who have obtained scanned copies of their evaluated answer sheets to seek verification of marks and request re-evaluation of specific answers.

IANS