Senior IAS officer Mandeep K Bhandari has been appointed as the new chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) as part of a bureaucratic reshuffle by the Centre.
Bhandari, a 2001-batch Indian Administrative Service officer, is currently serving as Principal Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. His appointment as CBSE chairman was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, according to an order issued by the Ministry of Personnel.
His appointment comes months after the CBSE faced criticism over alleged irregularities related to the introduction of its On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for evaluating Class 12 answer scripts.
The board had ordered an inquiry into the procurement of services for the OSM platform after concerns were raised over glitches in the digital evaluation system. The issue also led to questions about the board’s administration and the way examinations were being managed.
In an earlier bureaucratic reshuffle on June 2, then CBSE chairman Rahul Singh and secretary Himanshu Gupta were transferred from their posts. Prashant Lokhande was later appointed as chairman.
Bhandari will now take charge of the board at a time when its examination and evaluation systems continue to face scrutiny.