Mandeep Bhandari Appointed New CBSE Chairman

New Delhi, September 26: The central government has appointed senior IAS officer Mandeep Bhandari as the new Chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Bhandari, a 2001 batch AGMUT cadre IAS officer, is currently serving as the Principal Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.

This marks the third appointment to the CBSE chairmanship in just four months. Rahul Singh was the chairman until June, when he was removed amid the On-Screen Marking (OSM) controversy that arose after the Class 12 results were announced on May 13. Following Singh’s removal, IAS officer Lokhande Prashant Sitaram was given additional charge of the chairmanship.

The OSM method, used for the first time this year, led to numerous complaints from students regarding their marks. The situation escalated, prompting an investigation into the matter.

Two students, Vedant Srivastava from Delhi and Sarthak Siddhant from Ranchi, played pivotal roles in uncovering discrepancies related to the OSM process. Vedant raised concerns after receiving a score of 65 in Physics, which led to a re-evaluation revealing errors. Initially, he faced backlash on social media but later received an apology from the board for the mistake.

Sarthak, a 17-year-old tech researcher, conducted an in-depth analysis of 576 documents released by the CBSE, identifying irregularities in the tender process. His investigative efforts showcased the importance of student engagement in educational governance.