Bhubaneswar: Stepping up the attack on the BJP government in Odisha over errors in school textbooks, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) resident Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday sought to know as to who is accountable for shattering the trust of lakhs of students.
School textbooks are not just books but the first source of truth for every child, the former chief Minister said in a post on X. “A child may question many things, but never the words printed in a school textbook,” he said.
“School textbooks are not just books. For every child, they are the first source of truth. A child may question many things, but never the words printed in a school textbook. Those words are an article of absolute faith and trust. Through textbooks, an entire generation learns not only facts but also builds faith in the system and trust in society”, the BJD supremo said
When that trust is compromised, the damage goes far beyond a printing error and it strikes at the very foundation of our children’s future, he said, alleging that the callous handling of school textbooks by the BJP government has betrayed that sacred trust.
“The victims are lakhs of students who are the future generation of Odisha- the torch bearers of tomorrow. By printing error ridden textbooks and then flip flopping on their withdrawal, we are shaking the very foundation of our children’s tomorrow,” the BJD chief said.
He questioned who will take responsibility for shattering the trust of an entire generation of Odia children. “The government may correct textbook errors in the next edition. But who will be held accountable for the endeavor to shatter the trust of our innocent students?” Naveen asked.
