Bhubaneswar, June 17 (IANS) Taking serious note of the errors detected in school textbooks published by the Odisha government, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday directed the officials to take immediate corrective measures and ordered a high-level inquiry into the matter.

According to an official statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office, the Chief Minister chaired an important meeting at Lok Seva Bhavan to review the issue. School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond, Chief Secretary Anu Garg, and senior officials from various departments participated in the meeting through virtual mode.

During the meeting, the Chief Minister decided to take immediate steps to rectify the errors found in the textbooks. He also ordered the constitution of a three-member high-level committee under the chairmanship of the Development Commissioner to investigate the lapses and identify the officials or agencies responsible for the mistakes.

The committee has been directed to submit its report within seven days. Based on the findings of the committee, stringent action will be taken against the officials or institutions found responsible for the errors.

Expressing concern over the issue, CM Majhi emphasised the need for maintaining the highest standards of accuracy in educational materials and instructed officials to ensure that all identified mistakes are corrected without delay.

As per reports, the new textbooks prepared by SCERT, Odisha, under Odisha Curriculum 2025 for Classes I to VIII contain nearly 1,678 identified errors. The highest number of mistakes — 705 — has been found in the Class VIII textbooks alone, including 294 errors in Jijnasa, 114 in Sanskrit, 25 in Social Science, and 31 in Literature, as well as several significant errors in English and Mathematics.

The opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Congress have also launched a scathing attack on the State government over serious errors found in the newly published Odia textbooks, alleging that the glaring mistakes expose the deterioration of Odisha’s education system under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

They also sought the resignation of the School and Mass Education Minister and the issuance of a public apology for the glaring errors.

–IANS

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