Inside CBSE: The Complete Hierarchy and Board Organizational Structure

As CBSE faces scrutiny over its On-Screen Marking system triggered by allegations of answer-sheet mismatches, blurred scans and portal glitches the focus has shifted to the officials in charge of running India’s school board. There are likely to be changes in the CBSE as the Ministry of Education increases its scrutiny of alleged irregularities within the board. The explanations given by CBSE on the tender-related issue have not satisfied the ministry. Now accountability is expected at multiple levels.

Who Runs CBSE?

Here’s a look at the people who oversee exams, academics, affiliations, technology, training and administration within CBSE.

• Rahul Singh – Chairman, CBSE

The Chairman is the head of CBSE. Oversees the board’s overall working, policy implementation, exams, affiliations, academics and administration. Rahul Singh, an IAS officer currently heads the board.

• Himanshu Gupta – Secretary

The Secretary is CBSE’s administrative officer and handles administration, finance, affiliations, legal matters, audit and public relations.

• Dr. Sanyam Bhardwaj – Controller of Examinations

The Controller of Examinations oversees Class 10 and 12 board exams, result processing, evaluation systems and exam administration across the country.

• Dr. Praggya M. Singh – Director (Academics)

He heads curriculum development, academic reforms learning frameworks and subject-related policy initiatives.

• Dr. Biswajit Saha – Director (Skill Education)

He leads CBSE’s skill education programmes, including industry-linked courses in schools.

• Manoj Kumar Srivastava – Director (Training)

He is responsible for teacher training, capacity-building programmes and professional development initiatives for educators.

• I Margaret Catherine – Director (IT & Projects)

She oversees CBSE’s infrastructure, exam technology, online services and technology-driven projects.

• Jaiprakash Chaturvedi – Director (Affiliation)

He handles school affiliation matters, compliance requirements, inspections and recognition processes.

• J K Yadav – Director, CTET

He leads the administration of the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) one of India’s teacher recruitment exams.

• Sanjib Das – Director (Professional Examinations)

He heads exam-related functions managed by the board.

• Vivek Kumar Singh – Chief Vigilance Officer

He is responsible for vigilance, integrity and anti-corruption oversight within CBSE’s functioning.

How CBSE Is Structured

Under CBSE’s setup the Chairman is assisted by multiple department heads, including the Secretary, Controller of Examinations, Directors for Academics, Training, IT, Skill Education, Professional Examinations and regional offices. The board functions under the supervision of the Department of School Education and Literacy, under the Ministry of Education.

How the Ministry of Education Controls CBSE

The Ministry of Education has control over the CBSE. The CBSE works on its own. It is not completely independent. The Ministry of Education, the Department of School Education and Literacy is in charge of the CBSE.

The Union Education Minister is the person who makes the decisions and the Secretary of School Education helps to make things happen. When something goes wrong with the CBSE like the problems, with On-Screen Marking or the website not working properly the Ministry of Education steps in. The Ministry of Education can ask the CBSE to check what went wrong, send them a notice to explain what happened and make sure the CBSE is doing what it is supposed to do. The Ministry of Education and the CBSE work together to fix the problems and make sure everything runs smoothly.