Prashant Sitaram Lokhande, an IAS officer of the 2001 batch, has been appointed as the Chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).
Varun Bhardwaj, a 2008-batch Indian Information Service officer, has been made Secretary of the education board, which is currently embroiled in a massive row over alleged irregularities linked to the on-screen marking (OSM) system. This includes the manner in which the CBSE awarded a contract to a controversial private company.
Lokhande, who hails from the AGMUT cadre, previously served as additional secretary at the Union Home Ministry. He replaces Rahul Singh, who has now been transferred to the Agriculture Ministry as additional secretary.
Bhardwaj, who also served in the Education Ministry, replaces Himanshu Gupta. Gupta's “premature repatriation” to the parent cadre, the Union Home Ministry, on administrative grounds has been approved amid the OSM controversy that the CBSE is currently facing.
A one-member committee is investigating the CBSE's newly introduced OSM system and will present its findings to the government soon. This year, the board introduced the digital evaluation mechanism for Class 12 exams. Under this new system, evaluators assessed scanned copies of answer sheets instead of physical answer books.
In response to the growing backlash over the controversy, the CBSE has opened a revaluation website for students today. The website will remain open until June 6 midnight. During this period, students can apply for verification of issues observed in their scanned answer books and request re-evaluation of specific answers if they are dissatisfied with the assessment.
The CBSE clarified that only students who have already obtained scanned copies of their evaluated answer books can use this facility.
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