Kataka: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Orissa High Court alleging widespread errors in textbooks prescribed for the state’s schools.
Taking up the matter for preliminary hearing Friday, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Chittaranjan Dash directed the state government to submit its response within a week. The next hearing has been scheduled for November 9.
According to the petition, as many as 1,678 errors have been identified in 55 textbooks prescribed for the 2026–27 academic session. Class VIII textbooks account for the highest number of errors at 705, followed by Class VII with 387 and Class VI with 289.
The petition further points out 131 errors in Class IV textbooks, 75 each in Class III and Class V, and 12 errors in Class II textbooks. The alleged errors are not limited to spelling and grammatical mistakes. They reportedly include incorrect information about prominent personalities, factual inconsistencies and inaccurate references.
The petitioner has expressed concern that such mistakes could adversely affect students’ learning and knowledge acquisition. The petition also highlights the responsibilities assigned to different educational authorities under Section 29 of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, and the Odisha Right to Education Rules.
The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has been designated as the academic authority responsible for developing and preparing textbooks. The Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA) serves as the implementing agency, while the Directorate of Textbook Production and Marketing is responsible for printing.
The petitioner has urged the court to direct the state government to implement the recommendations of an inquiry committee constituted under the chairmanship of the Development Commissioner to investigate the textbook errors.
The petition has also sought the establishment of a robust quality-checking mechanism to identify and rectify errors before textbooks are printed and distributed in the future. Emphasising the need to provide error-free textbooks to students, the petitioner has sought appropriate directions to prevent the recurrence of such lapses.
The PIL was filed by RTI activist and advocate Prabir Kumar Das. The Chief Secretary of the state government, the Secretary of the School and Mass Education Department, the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), OSEPA, and the Director of Textbook Production and Marketing have been named as respondents in the case.