Acting against officials over the row surrounding the on-screen marking (OSM) system of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for the Class XII examinations, the Centre on Tuesday transferred board Chairman Rahul Singh and Secretary Himanshu Gupta.
Lokhande Prashant Sitaram has been appointed as the new Chairman of the CBSE, while Varun Bhardwaj, Director, Department of Higher Education, has been appointed its Secretary (Director level).
Upon transfer, Rahul Singh has been appointed as Additional Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the proposal of the Education Ministry for the pre-mature repatriation of Gupta to the Ministry of Home Affairs, his parent cadre, on administrative grounds with the condition of “extended cooling off”. He will be eligible for another central deputation after December 12, 2030.
While Rahul Singh was responsible for overseeing the board’s operations and examination reforms, Gupta supervised administrative functions, including finance.
Last year, the government had extended Rahul Singh’s tenure as the CBSE Chairman until November 2027.
The Cabinet Secretariat notified the constitution of a one-member committee to probe matters relating to the procurement of services for the OSM system by the CBSE. The committee will be chaired by S Radha Chauhan, chairperson, Capacity Building Commission.
“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 the Capacity Building Commission. The committee will submit its report within a month to the Department of Personnel and Training,” an official memorandum read.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the CBSE leadership’s unceremonious exit and the constitution of the one-member committee to investigate the procurement of the OSM system proved that irregularities were committed. “This is a testament to the ingenuity and skill of Gen Z students, who exposed this scandal online and even briefed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, chaired by Digvijaya Singh, today. Today’s action, clearly timed after the meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education with the CBSE, is an attempt to distract and fix accountability of bureaucrats rather than the political leadership. It should be remembered that CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh had been given a two-year extension by the Cabinet Committee on Appointments as recently as November 2025,” Ramesh said and demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Before joining the CBSE, he served as Additional Secretary in the Department of Personnel and Training.
Meanwhile, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has announced that he will return to Delhi on June 6 to launch a peaceful protest, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged examination-related failures.
The CJP announced that climate activist Sonam Wangchuk will join its protest on June 6.
Wangchuk confirmed his participation on X, “I will be joining CJP members in Delhi on June 6 if nothing changes by June 5. Any self-respecting minister should resign if things go so wrong… Not to mention the effect on millions of young lives and, in fact, the future of India.”
