Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) chairman Rahul Singh and secretary Himanshu Gupta have been transferred out amid mounting scrutiny over the procurement process for the board's on-screen marking (OSM) system and alleged irregularities in the full-scale rollout of the platform used to assess Class 12 answer scripts, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
The Centre has also ordered an inquiry into the procurement of the OSM services. This move by the government comes after students raised concerns about the checking of Class 12 results. (cbseindia29/Facebook)
{{^htLoading}} {{/htLoading}}
Their new postings were not immediately clear. Following the transfers, Lokhande Prashant Sitaram was appointed as the new CBSE chairman
The government has also constituted a one-member committee comprising a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer S. Radha Chauhan, to inquire into matters relating to the procurement of services for the OSM system by the CBSE. Chauhan is currently chairperson of the Capacity Building Commission (CBC), a body tasked with driving the standardisation and harmonisation of civil services in the country.
An office memorandum issued by the Cabinet Secretariat on Tuesday said that the committee would submit its report to the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) within a month.
“The chairperson of the committee is empowered to obtain the assistance of officers from other offices, as required. Secretarial assistance to the committee will be provided by CBC,” the memorandum said.
The committee's formation follows the Union education ministry's intensified examination of alleged irregularities in the CBSE’s tendering process and cybersecurity vulnerabilities linked to the board’s digital evaluation ecosystem.
It also follows anger among parents and teachers amid what appears to be a rushed process to roll out an entirely new mechanism for scoring nearly 10 million answer scripts despite concerns.
CBSE officials have denied allegations of wrongdoing and maintained that the tender process was conducted in accordance with General Financial Rules (GFR) and established government procurement procedures.
HT earlier reported that the contract was awarded to Coempt Edu Teck on December 5, just 74 days before the first board examinations began on February 17.
Sanjay Maurya is a Principal Correspondent with Hindustan Times, where he covers education, with a focus on school and higher education, competitive examinations, education policy and governance. Working as part of the National Bureau, he is based in New Delhi and reports on the Ministry of Education and covers various statutory bodies like UGC, AICTE and NCTE and autonomous bodies like CBSE and NCERT. His reporting also tracks the implementation of key government reforms and policies from school education to higher education including in IITs, NITs, IIMs, central and state universities, and their impact on students and educational institutions. His reporting on the irregularities and rushed implementation of CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for evaluation of Class 12 board exams 2026, triggered administrative action, leading to the transfer of the board's two senior-most officials and the constitution of a committee to probe alleged irregularities in procurement process of the system. He joined Hindustan Times in December 2024. Prior to that, he had a three-year stint at Careers360, where he reported on school and higher education, entrance examinations, admissions, rankings and various education policies involving universities and professional education bodies. Over the years, Maurya has reported extensively on major developments in India's education sector, including the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA) following the NEET-UG 2024 controversy, changes in school education, higher education regulation, and the evolution of entrance examinations such as NEET, JEE and CUET. He regularly produces data-driven and explanatory stories based on government documents, parliamentary proceedings, court records and official data. His focus remains on helping readers understand how education policies and institutional decisions affect millions of students, teachers and educational institutions across the country.
Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather major national developments and Karnataka Bandh LIVE.
Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather major national developments and Karnataka Bandh LIVE.
Home/India News/CBSE chairman, secretary transferred in government action amid OSM row
{{^htLoading}}
Advertisement
{{/htLoading}}
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
{{#usCountry}}{{/usCountry}}
Hindustantimes wants to start sending you push notifications. Click allow to subscribe
