Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Jun 3: The Centre on Tuesday appointed senior IAS officer Lokhande Prashant Sitaram as the new chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) amid controversy surrounding the board's recently introduced On-Screen Marking (OSM) system.
The government also named senior bureaucrat Varun Bhardwaj as the new CBSE secretary. Bhardwaj, a 2008-batch Indian Information Service officer, is currently serving as director in the Ministry of Education.
The appointments came hours after former CBSE chairman Rahul Singh and secretary Himanshu Gupta were moved out of the national education board following allegations of irregularities in the digital evaluation process used for Class 12 examinations.
Sitaram, a 2001-batch Indian Administrative Service officer of the AGMUT cadre, is currently serving as additional secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Earlier in the day, the Centre constituted a one-member inquiry committee to investigate issues related to the procurement of services for the CBSE's OSM system.
According to a Cabinet Secretariat memorandum, the panel will be headed by S Radha Chauhan, chairperson of the Capacity Building Commission.
The committee has been authorised to seek assistance from officials of other departments whenever required, while the Capacity Building Commission will provide secretarial support for the inquiry. The panel has been asked to submit its report to the Department of Personnel and Training within one month.
The controversy erupted after several Class 12 students alleged that scanned copies of their answer sheets uploaded by CBSE did not match their handwriting, raising concerns over possible answer-sheet mismatches in the OSM system.
Students and parents have also expressed concerns regarding the implementation of the digital evaluation system. The board has faced criticism over reported technical glitches, payment failures and delays in the verification and re-evaluation process.
The developments have triggered demands for greater transparency and accountability in the conduct and evaluation of CBSE board examinations.