Odisha to Replace School Textbooks After 1,678 Errors Found, Government Apologises
Facing widespread criticism from parents, teachers, and political parties over a large number of errors in school textbooks, the Odisha government on Wednesday announced it would correct the mistakes and supply new textbooks to students.
The state government acknowledged 1,678 factual and grammatical errors in textbooks for students from Class I to Class VIII. School and Mass Education Secretary N Thirumala Naik said corrected versions would be uploaded on the official website and fresh copies distributed.
“Steps are being taken to identify every error in the existing textbooks, have them printed afresh and distributed. Additional members including subject experts and educationists have been roped in to review and proof-read the books,” Naik said at a press conference.
He added that the government would seek feedback from teachers, parents, researchers, and subject experts before final printing to avoid future lapses.
The controversy escalated after Biju Janata Dal President and former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik criticised the Mohan Charan Majhi government on social media for its handling of textbooks. BJD cadres also protested in Bhubaneswar demanding the resignation of School and Mass Education Minister Nityanand Gond.
Among the reported errors, a Class V textbook reportedly reproduced lyrics of the Hindi film song “Nimbuda Nimbuda” from the 1999 movie Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam in a chapter. Another error claimed Odisha’s Niyamgiri Hills are in Jharkhand.
Following an investigation by a high-level committee set up by Chief Minister Majhi, four senior officials were placed under suspension for the errors.
