Lokhande Prashant Sitaram appointed CBSE Chairperson, Varun Bhardwaj named Secretary
New Delhi, June 2
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on Tuesday approved key top-level administrative changes in the Central Board of Secondary Education and other central government departments, marking a significant restructuring in the education administration framework.
As per an official notification, Lokhande Prashant Sitaram has been appointed as Chairperson of the Central Board of Secondary Education in the Ministry of Education.
In another appointment, Rahul Singh has been named Additional Secretary in the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
Meanwhile, an official office memorandum stated that Varun Bhardwaj (IInfOS) has been appointed as the new Secretary of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), New Delhi, succeeding Himanshu Gupta, IAS, who has been sent back to his parent cadre on a premature repatriation.
"the appointment of Varun Bhardwaj, Director, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education to the post of Secretary (Director level), Central Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi under Department of School Education & Literacy on deputation basis under Central Staffing Scheme on lateral shift basis vice Himanshu Gupta, for a period upto 19.09.2027 (i.e. combined tenure of 05 years in Central Staffing Scheme)," an office memorandum read
The ACC has approved the proposal of the Department of School Education & Literacy for the premature repatriation of the outgoing CBSE Secretary, Himanshu Gupta.
"The proposal of the Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education, for the premature repatriation of Himanshu Gupta, Secretary, Central Board of Secondary Education, under the Department of School Education & Literacy. Ministry of Education to parent cadre (Ministry of Home Affairs) on administrative grounds with the condition of 'extended cooling off," the memorandum read.
The appointments come amid the ongoing scrutiny of CBSE's digital infrastructure following reports of technical glitches in its post-result services and concerns raised by students regarding discrepancies in answer-sheet evaluation under the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system.
— ANI
Reader Comments
We just moved to Delhi from the US and my son started CBSE curriculum — it's quite rigorous. I hope the new leadership focuses on reducing exam pressure and improving digital platforms, especially for students with special needs. A balanced approach would be great.
Yet another bureaucratic reshuffle ಠ_ಠ The real issue is the quality of education and teacher training. These top-level changes don't affect classroom realities. Hope they look at better training programs for teachers and reduce the rote learning focus.
Appointments are fine, but I'm more concerned about the OSM system glitches. My daughter's board results had a discrepancy in marks - it took us 2 months to get them corrected. CBSE needs to be more transparent and responsive to students' issues.
Good decision to send Himanshu Gupta back on administrative grounds - accountability is key in public service. The new Chairperson has a science background, hopefully they'll integrate more skill-based learning into the curriculum.
The extended cooling-off condition for Gupta ji is interesting - shows the government is serious about transparency. But I wish they'd focus more on reducing the syllabus and making exams less stressful. Students are under so much pressure these days 😔
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