Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has described the 1,678 spelling, factual, and conceptual errors in newly printed school textbooks for Classes I to VIII as a potential conspiracy aimed at defaming the Odishagovernment, and has vowed strict action against those responsible.
Speaking at an event, Majhi said the government is treating the matter with utmost seriousness. While errors in textbooks have happened before, he noted that the sheer scale this time is unprecedented and warrants a full scrutiny of the entire process, from manuscript preparation and vetting to final printing. “I suspect a larger conspiracy to defame the government,” the Chief Minister said, adding that a high-level committee headed by the Development Commissioner has been formed to investigate and fix accountability.
He personally intervened to shorten the panel’s deadline from an initial 15 days to just seven days to expedite the probe. The deadline has now lapsed, and findings are expected soon.
The errors, which include factual inaccuracies, spelling mistakes, wrong images, and mislabeled locations — such as describing scientist Isaac Newton as a pilot, printing a photo of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly as Odisha’s, labeling Hampi images as the Konark Sun Temple, and placing Odisha’s Niyamgiri Hills in Jharkhand — have triggered widespread anger among teachers, students, and parents.
Majhi warned that if the inquiry uncovers evidence of deliberate sabotage or conspiracy, the costs of reprinting and distribution will be recovered from those found guilty. He emphasised that measures will be put in place to strengthen the review and quality control mechanisms so that such lapses do not recur.
The School and Mass Education Department has already issued a corrigendum directing schools to help students rectify the mistakes in the interim.
The new textbooks were prepared by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) in sync with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The Class VIII textbooks saw the largest number of inaccuracies at 705, inviting criticism from the opposition political parties.
