Bhubaneswar: A day after teachers in government-run schools of Odisha pointed out “several errors” in textbooks prescribed for Classes I to VIII this academic session, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi on Wednesday directed immediate corrective measures and formation of a high-level committee to fix responsibility.
In a key meeting held at Lok Seva Bhawan here, the Chief Minister, along with School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond, Chief Secretary Anu Garg, and senior officials, reviewed the issue. Majhi instructed officials to immediately rectify the mistakes and ensure such lapses do not recur. He ordered the constitution of a three-member high-level committee under the chairmanship of the Development Commissioner. The committee has been tasked with identifying the responsible officers or agencies and submitting its report within seven days.
Strict action will be taken against those found guilty based on the findings, according to a CMO release.
The BJD, on Tuesday, had described the errors in the newly-published Odia textbooks as a national embarrassment, and demanded their immediate withdrawal from circulation and a high-level inquiry into the matter.
Hampi for Konark, Vidhan Soudha for Assembly; 1678 Mistakes
The errors, totalling over 1,678 across the textbooks with Class 8 books containing the highest of 705, include spelling mistakes, factual inaccuracies, wrong images, and incorrect information. Notable blunders include describing Isaac Newton as a “great pilot,” using a photo of Karnataka’s Legislative Assembly in place of Odisha’s, misplacing Niyamgiri Hills in Jharkhand, and confusing Hampi’s Vijaya Vitthala Temple with Konark Sun Temple. Similarly, Humma salt pans have been shown as being located in “Berhampur district”, which is a city in Ganjam district.
Issues were also flagged in subjects like Social Science, Sanskrit, and Jijnasa.
The textbooks were revised by the directorate of teacher education and the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), which engaged teachers and academic experts for the curriculum overhaul undertaken in alignment with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Congress to Gherao Mass Education Minister’s Residence Tomorrow
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das announced that the party workers would gherao the School and Mass Education Minister’s official residence on Thursday. He claimed that roughly Rs 50 crore of public money has gone down the drain due to these misprinted books. He targeted the ruling party, stating that the BJP came to power on the plank of protecting ‘Odia Asmita’ (Odia pride/identity), but is instead destroying it and crippling the future of school children. The OPCC chief further alleged that the textbooks were rushed to print without being finalised or vetted by the expert core committee.
Student Congress leader Yasir Nawaz declared that printing flawed textbooks is akin to playing with the future of students. The party has demanded a judicial probe against those responsible and called for the immediate resignation of the Mass Education Minister.
BJD Slams ‘Saffronisation’ of Education
Meanwhile, the opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) also launched a scathing attack on the government over the issue. BJD MLA and former minister Arun Sahoo warned that playing games with education would destroy successive generations. Sahoo alleged that education is clearly not a priority for the BJP government. He remarked that errors visible to the media seem completely invisible to the administration, accusing the government of appointing individuals based on political ideology rather than competence. He claimed that the government is only interested in appointing people who align with their saffron ideology, completely bypassing qualified experts. If this policy of ‘saffronisation’ is not abandoned, the education system will collapse, Sahoo warned, demanding that the education department be kept free from political and ideological interference.
Party spokesperson Lenin Mohanty had earlier demanded strong action against those responsible for the blunders. “The BJP government has manufactured a hollow narrative around Odia Asmita (pride) and played with the sentiments of the people,” he said, asserting that the administration has displayed sheer incompetence and a profound disrespect for the native language. He further noted that the School and Mass Education department’s rushed attempt to issue a correction list only served to conceal its missteps, ultimately exposing a deep-seated culture of negligence and a total lack of accountability.