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The Ministry of Education has ordered an immediate and sweeping restructuring at the top levels of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). In an abrupt move, both the CBSE Chairman and the Board Secretary have been moved out of their positions following severe operational failures. The administrative shake-up comes directly in the wake of intensifying controversy surrounding the procurement and execution of the On-Screen Marking (OSM) service system. A central panel revealed that the board had previously ignored its own dry-run warnings, which explicitly highlighted massive systemic glitches and recommended a one-year delay. Despite these internal technical warnings, the system was rolled out for Grade 12 evaluations, leading to widespread disruptions for thousands of students. The issue rapidly escalated after a 17-year-old student from Jharkhand flagged serious irregularities in the CBSE tendering process before a Parliamentary panel. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, chaired by senior MP Digvijaya Singh, convened a formal meeting to investigate the crisis. Simultaneously, the central government has set up an independent inquiry committee to probe the entire procurement process of the OSM contract. Opposition leaders have aggressively attacked the central government over these systemic failures, calling the situation a complete betrayal of the younger generation. High-profile political figures have gone as far as demanding the immediate resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The incoming board leadership faces the immediate, monumental task of restoring credibility to the examination and evaluation framework. Experts emphasize that the failure to heed early technical warnings exposes deep gaps in the board’s digital procurement and auditing policies. Parents and student unions across India continue to hold demonstrations, demanding a transparent re-evaluation process to protect academic futures. The ongoing probe will thoroughly scrutinize the financial and technical vetting of the third-party IT vendors involved in the grading platform.
