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New Delhi, June 2. The Central Government on Tuesday evening appointed IAS Lokhande Prashant Sitaram as the new Chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Also, Varun Bhardwaj has been made the new secretary of the board. Both of them will replace Rahul Singh and Himanshu Gupta, who were removed from the post of CBSE Chairman and Secretary respectively earlier in the day.

These appointments came just hours after the government ordered a probe into the controversial ‘on-screen marking’ (OSM) system. Many complaints were received from students and parents regarding this system.

According to an order approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, 2001-batch AGMUT cadre IAS officer Lokhande Prashant Sitaram, currently serving as Additional Secretary, Home Department under the Home Ministry, has been appointed Chairman, CBSE in the rank and pay scale of Additional Secretary.

He replaces Rahul Singh, a 1996 batch Bihar cadre IAS officer, who has been appointed Additional Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Senior bureaucrat Varun Bhardwaj has also been appointed as the new Secretary of CBSE. According to the order, Bhardwaj, a 2008 batch Indian Information Service (IIS) officer currently serving as Director, Department of Higher Education under the Education Ministry, has been posted as Secretary, CBSE on deputation under the Central Staffing Scheme.

He replaces Himanshu Gupta, a 2012 batch IAS officer of AGMUT cadre. Bhardwaj will hold the post till September 19, 2027, as part of his total tenure of five years under the Central Staffing Scheme.

If seen, the ongoing controversy regarding on-screen marking in CBSE has reached the political level. This was the reason why the Center not only transferred CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh and Secretary Himanshu Gupta but also formed a one-member inquiry committee to investigate the procurement process of services to the OSM system of the Board. This entire matter has come to light amid the ongoing controversy over alleged irregularities and irregularities in the digital evaluation system of the 12th board exam. The committee will submit its report within a month.