Odisha Finds 1,741 Errors In Class 1 To 8 Textbooks, Revised Books Being Distributed
The Odisha government has identified 1,741 errors in textbooks for Classes 1 to 8 and has started distributing corrected editions after taking action against officials.
The Odisha government has identified 1,741 errors and suggestions in textbooks for Classes 1 to 8, School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond informed the state Assembly. The findings came after the textbooks had already been printed and distributed to students.
The minister also informed the Assembly that around Rs 175 crore was spent on printing and publication of the textbooks.
The errors include 1,075 grammatical, typographical and spelling mistakes, five factual and conceptual errors, and 661 suggestions for improving the books. The government has said that the identified issues have been addressed in revised editions.
Among the textbooks, the Class 8 Science book had 294 errors, followed by 121 in the Class 7 Urdu textbook and 114 in the Class 8 Sanskrit textbook. The Class 6 Social Science and Class 7 Sanskrit books had 98 and 92 errors, respectively.
Government takes corrective measures
According to the minister, the Directorate of Teacher Education and the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) were responsible for the textbook publication process. The books were printed based on drafts prepared by the council, after which several errors came to light.
The government has now introduced additional checks involving subject and language experts. “Specific measures, such as fact-checking by subject and language experts, have been introduced during textbook preparation to prevent the recurrence of such errors in future textbooks. Error-free books are being printed and distributed to students,” Gond said.
The distribution of the revised textbooks has already begun. According to the Odisha Chief Minister’s Office, the School and Mass Education Department started distributing the corrected books across schools on September 23. The government said the move is aimed at providing students with accurate and improved educational material.
Action against officials
The issue has also resulted in administrative action. The government suspended the then director and three assistant directors, while disciplinary proceedings were initiated against six other assistant directors.
The corrections are being incorporated into revised editions, with the government saying the additional fact-checking and language-level scrutiny will help prevent similar errors in future textbooks.
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Sahil Behl is an education journalist at Jagran with over a year of experience in journalism. Prior to joining Jagran, he worked as a Sub-Editor in NDTV’s Education department, where he was responsible for writing and editing education-related content as well as managing the department’s social media presence. At Jagran, he covers a wide range of education topics, including board examinations, school updates, admissions, and job notifications, while leveraging his editorial expertise and strong understanding of digital content strategy. Sahil holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and has also completed an eight-month certification program in Data Science. Passionate about emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, he closely tracks their growing role in journalism and explores how they are transforming shaping the future of the media industry.
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