The Union government on Tuesday transferred CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh and Secretary Himanshu Gupta and set up a committee to examine the procurement of services for the board's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system amid concerns over alleged irregularities in the digital evaluation process.
The move comes amid a controversy involving the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), after some Class 12 students alleged that scanned copies of their answer sheets uploaded by the board did not match their handwriting, raising concerns about possible answer-sheet mismatches in the OSM system.
The chairman and secretary of CBSE have been transferred by the government, an official said.
Concerns were raised by students and parents over the implementation of the OSM system in the CBSE board examination process.
The Centre has formed a one-member committee to inquire into matters relating to the procurement of services for the on-screen marking system by the CBSE. The committee will be chaired by S Radha Chauhan, Chairperson, Capacity Building Commission, a memorandum issued by the Cabinet Secretariat said on Tuesday.
Chauhan has been empowered to obtain the assistance of officials from other departments, as required, while the Capacity Building Commission will provide secretarial assistance to the panel.
The committee will submit its report to the Department of Personnel and Training within one month.
The memorandum addressed to Chauhan was shared with the Department of School Education and Literacy and the Department of Personnel and Training.
The move comes amid students and parents raising concerns over the implementation of the on-screen marking OSM system in CBSE's board examinations.
The board has faced criticism over technical glitches, payment failures and delays in its verification and re-evaluation process, prompting demands for greater transparency and accountability.
The controversy gained prominence after a Delhi student alleged that the Physics answer sheet shown under his roll number was not his own. CBSE later acknowledged at least one answer-sheet mismatch and provided the correct script to the student. However, similar complaints from other candidates raised questions about the reliability and transparency of the new digital evaluation mechanism.
Against this backdrop, the government has ordered a probe into the procurement process related to the OSM system while effecting changes in the board's top leadership.
(With inputs from PTI)