Bhubaneswar: Acknowledging errors in school textbooks, State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) Director said mistakes had occurred this year and assured they would not be repeated in future editions Thursday.
District education officers have been informed about corrective measures. Teachers have been asked to rectify errors in books.
According to SCERT, revised textbooks to be printed for academic year 2027-28 will be free from such mistakes.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Wednesday held a high-level meeting at Lok Seva Bhavan to review discrepancies found in government school textbooks.
School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond, Chief Secretary Anu Garg and senior officials from various departments joined the meeting through video conferencing.
During the meeting, the Chief Minister directed authorities to take immediate steps to address the issue. He also ordered formation of a three-member committee headed by Development Commissioner to identify officials or agencies responsible for errors.
The committee has been asked to submit its report within seven days. Based on findings, strict action will be taken against those found responsible, chief minister said.
. According to reports, the new textbooks prepared by State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), under the 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, along with several significant errors in English and Mathematics. Among the most widely discussed mistakes are the description of Sir Isaac Newton as a ‘great pilot’ instead of a scientist, the use of an image of Karnataka’s Vidhan Soudha in place of the Odisha Legislative Assembly, and the identification of Hampi’s famous stone chariot as the Konark Sun Temple.
Other inaccuracies reportedly involve Odisha’s geography, history and cultural heritage. Odisha Parents’ Federation described the publication of the error-ridden textbooks as a serious failure of the education system.