CBSE leadership reshuffle: Prashant Lokhande takes charge as chairperson

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has undergone a leadership change with the appointment of senior IAS officer Prashant Sitaram Lokhande as its new chairperson and Varun Bhardwaj as secretary.

The appointments come at a significant time for the board, which is facing scrutiny over the implementation of its On-Screen Marking (OSM) system and concerns raised by students regarding evaluation processes.

The appointments, approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, were announced shortly after the transfer of outgoing CBSE Chairperson Rahul Singh and Secretary Himanshu Gupta.

Lokhande, a 2001-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, succeeds Rahul Singh and currently serves as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs. Bhardwaj, who replaces Himanshu Gupta, is presently serving as a Director in the Ministry of Education.

The leadership transition coincides with an ongoing review of CBSE's On-Screen Marking system, which has drawn attention following reports of technical issues and alleged discrepancies in evaluated answer sheets.

In a parallel development, the government has constituted a one-member inquiry commission headed by S Radha Chauhan, Chairperson of the Capacity Building Commission, to examine matters related to the procurement of services for the OSM system.

The commission has been authorized to seek assistance from officers across departments and has been asked to submit its findings to the Department of Personnel and Training within one month.

The board has also recently launched a re-verification portal to facilitate post-result review requests from students.

The portal was introduced amid concerns related to the OnMark platform operated by CBSE's Hyderabad-based service provider and is intended to support a transparent and fully digital re-verification process.

Students can apply for verification of scanned answer books and re-evaluation through online payment modes, including UPI, debit cards, credit cards, and net banking.

The issue has also reached Parliament. On June 2, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports Chairman Digvijaya Singh said the panel would examine concerns raised by students regarding the OSM system.

The remarks followed a presentation by Class 12 student Sarthak Sidhant, who has been among those highlighting alleged discrepancies in evaluated answer sheets.

The committee is currently reviewing the implementation of On-Screen Marking in CBSE Class 12 examinations, along with broader questions related to assessment practices, evaluation standards, and transparency.

Lokhande's appointment places an experienced administrator at the helm of one of India's largest school education boards.

Before joining the civil services, he earned a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from Pune University and later completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Industrial Engineering from the National Institute for Training in Industrial Engineering (NITIE), now known as the Indian Institute of Management Mumbai.

His academic background and administrative experience come as CBSE continues efforts to modernize examination processes, strengthen assessment systems, and address concerns raised by students and stakeholders regarding evaluation reforms.