Lokhande Prashant Sitaram appointed as new CBSE chief amid OSM controversy

The Centre on Tuesday appointed senior IAS officer Lokhande Prashant Sitaram as the new Chairperson of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), amid continuing scrutiny of the Board's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system.

Additionally, the government has appointed senior bureaucrat Varun Bhardwaj as the new CBSE secretary.

According to the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pension, Sitaram holds a Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Postgraduate Diploma in Industrial Engineering.


The appointment comes after transferred CBSE chairman Rahul Singh and Secretary Himanshu Gupta, and constituted a one-member inquiry committee to examine issues related to the procurement of services for the board's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system.

According to an official order, the inquiry committee will be headed by S Radha Chauhan, Chairperson of the Capacity Building Commission.

The committee has been tasked with inquiring into matters relating to the procurement of services for the On-Screen Marking System by CBSE. The Chairperson has been empowered to seek assistance from officers of other offices, as required for the inquiry.

The CBSE engulfed into a controversy after some class 12 students alleged that the scanned copies of their answer sheets uploaded by the board did not match their handwriting, raising concerns over possible answer-sheet mismatch in the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system.