New CBSE chairman an alumnus of administrative training institute run by Thane civic body

THANE: Prashant Lokhande's appointment as the CBSE chairman has been hailed as a major achievement for the late Chintamanrao Deshmukh Administrative Training Institute, managed by the Thane Municipal Corporation, where he received training for UPSC exams in 1995.

Lokhande had received guidance and training at the academy while preparing for civil services, according to a release by the Thane civic body. His appointment to head the country's largest school education board has brought recognition to the institute and its alumni, it added.

Congratulating Lokhande, a 2001-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, Municipal Commissioner Saurabh Rao described it as a significant achievement for the institute, which has been providing free coaching and guidance to candidates appearing for UPSC examinations.

Also read ‘Future built on Class 12 marks’: CBSE scandal pushes parents of next batch to seek answers from schools

Lokhande has served in several key positions in the Central government and handled senior administrative responsibilities, the release said, terming the development as a matter of pride for Maharashtra.

CBSE transferred officials amid OSM row

The Central government on Tuesday transferred CBSE chairman Rahul Singh and secretary Himanshu Gupta , replacing them with Lokhande and Varun Bhardwaj, respectively, amid alleged irregularities in the Class 12 digital evaluation system.

The CBSE is facing a row after some class 12 students alleged that the scanned copies of their answer sheets uploaded by the board did not match their handwriting, raising concerns over possible answer-sheet mismatch in the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system.