Odisha CM orders criminal probe into textbook errors affecting over 40 lakh students
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Saturday ordered a criminal investigation into widespread errors found in textbooks for students from Class 1 to Class 8. The directive came after over 1,600 mistakes were detected across 55 textbooks, including a description of scientist Isaac Newton as a pilot.
The Chief Minister instructed the Director of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) to file a First Information Report (FIR) with the Crime Branch Superintendent of Police, according to a statement from the Chief Minister's Office.
SCERT, the state agency responsible for printing the textbooks, had distributed them to more than 40 lakh students across Odisha. Errors included mislabeled locations and factual inaccuracies.
The Chief Minister did not rule out the possibility of a conspiracy behind the errors aimed at defaming the state's BJP government, but no evidence has been presented to support this claim. Earlier, the state government had set up a high-level committee headed by Development Commissioner D.K. Singh to investigate. Following the committee's findings, the government suspended the former SCERT director and three other assistant directors, and initiated disciplinary proceedings against six additional assistant directors.
The investigation aims to determine the cause of the errors and ensure accountability in the textbook publication process.
