Senior IAS Officer Lokhande Prashant Sitaram Appointed CBSE Chairperson Amid OSM Row

Senior bureaucrats Lokhande Prashant Sitaram and Varun Bhardwaj were on Tuesday appointed as the new chairperson and secretary, respectively, of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) , following a major administrative reshuffle amid the controversy surrounding the board's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system .

Sitaram, a 2001-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the AGMUT cadre, is currently serving as an additional secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs. According to an order issued by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) , he will replace outgoing CBSE chairperson Rahul Singh, who has been appointed as additional secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

The ACC also approved the premature repatriation of outgoing CBSE secretary Himanshu Gupta, a 2012-batch IAS officer, to his parent cadre in the Ministry of Home Affairs on administrative grounds. The order stated that Gupta would be subject to an extended cooling-off period and would be eligible for another central deputation only after December 12, 2030.

Meanwhile, Varun Bhardwaj, a 2008-batch Indian Information Service officer currently serving as director in the Ministry of Education, has been appointed as the new CBSE secretary.

The appointments come at a challenging time for the national school education board, which has been facing criticism over the implementation of its digital evaluation system. The controversy emerged after some Class 12 students alleged that scanned copies of answer sheets uploaded by CBSE did not match their handwriting, raising concerns about possible answer-sheet mismatches under the OSM process.

The issue has triggered widespread debate among students, parents and education stakeholders, with concerns also being raised over technical glitches, payment-related issues and delays in verification and re-evaluation procedures . The developments have intensified demands for greater transparency and accountability in the examination and assessment process.

With new leadership taking charge, expectations are high that CBSE will strengthen its quality-control mechanisms, improve grievance redressal systems and enhance communication with students and schools. Experts believe restoring confidence in the board's evaluation framework will require regular audits of digital assessment systems, stronger safeguards against errors and faster resolution of complaints.

Beyond addressing the immediate controversy, the new leadership is also expected to steer key education reforms linked to the National Education Policy (NEP) , including competency-based assessments and greater integration of technology in learning. Their ability to balance innovation with fairness, efficiency and transparency will be closely watched as CBSE seeks to reinforce its credibility and ensure a smoother experience for millions of students across the country.