CBSE chief and secretary booted over OSM row, govt panel to probe procurement

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Tuesday removed CBSE chairperson Rahul Singh and secretary Himanshu Gupta from their posts with immediate effect and ordered a one-member inquiry into the procurement of the digital evaluation (on-screen marking) system.

The appointments committee of Cabinet approved the appointment of Lokhande Prashant Sitaram, additional secretary in the ministry of home affairs, as the new CBSE chairperson in place of Singh, who has been shifted as additional secretary in the department of agriculture and farmers welfare.



Gupta was sent back to his parent cadre in the ministry of home affairs on "administrative grounds" with "extended cooling off", accord-ing to an order, while Varun Bhardwaj, director in the department of higher education, has been appointed the new CBSE secretary.

Meanwhile, ministry sources said central cybersecurity agencies, including Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), were closely monitoring alleged cyberattacks and security threats targeting CBSE's OSM re-evaluation portal. "Strict penal action will be taken against those found involved," a senior official said.

As first reported by TOI on Tuesday on the likelihood of heads rolling in CBSE, the move follows weeks of criticism over the rollout of OSM-based evaluation.

1-member panel set up to probe OSM tender
The rollout of the OSM-based evaluation and post-result processes triggered complaints from students and parents regarding alleged answer-sheet mix-ups, portal glitches, payment failures and delays in verification and re-evaluation procedures.

According to an office memorandum issued by the Cabinet Secretariat Tuesday, govt has constituted a “one-member committee to inquire into matters relating to procurement of services for on-screen marking system by Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)”.

The panel will be headed by S Radha Chauhan, chairperson of the Capacity Building Commission.

The memorandum also stated that the committee chairperson has been empowered to seek assistance from officers of other offices as required, while secretarial support will be provided by the Capacity Building Commission.

The one-member committee has been asked to submit its report to the department of personnel and training within one month. The memorandum was also marked to the principal secretary to the PM, indicating that the matter has reached the highest levels of govt scrutiny.

Sources in the education ministry said the inquiry would examine issues linked to the procurement process for the OSM system amid mounting concerns over its implementation.