Shocking Discovery: Over 1,700 Errors Found in Odisha's School Textbooks!

In a shocking revelation, the Odisha government has identified 1,741 errors in textbooks for Classes I to VIII, leading to significant concerns over educational quality. With Rs 175 crore spent on printing, the government is taking corrective actions, including suspending officials and implementing new fact-checking measures. This article delves into the details of the errors found and the steps being taken to rectify them, raising questions about the future of educational materials in the state.

By Narendra Chaudhary Sep 25, 2026, 22:13 IST

Major Textbook Errors Uncovered in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government revealed on Friday that a staggering 1,741 errors have been identified in textbooks for students from Classes I to VIII, with a total expenditure of Rs 175 crore on their printing and distribution.

In response to a query from Congress MLA Sofia Firdous, State School and Mass Education Minister Nityanand Gond disclosed that the errors include 1,075 grammatical, typographical, and spelling mistakes, along with five factual and conceptual inaccuracies found in various textbooks.

Additionally, 661 recommendations have been made to enhance the quality of these educational materials.

The minister's report indicated that the Class VIII Science textbook contained 294 errors, while the Class VII Urdu book had 121, the Class VIII Sanskrit book had 114, the Class VI Social Science book had 98, and the Class VII Sanskrit book had 92 errors.

To address these issues, corrective measures are being implemented in the revised editions of the textbooks.

Gond emphasized that specific protocols, including fact-checking by subject matter and language experts, have been established during the textbook creation process to avoid similar mistakes in future publications. Error-free editions are currently being printed and distributed to students.

Furthermore, Gond mentioned that the Directorate of Teacher Education and the State Council of Educational Research and Training (TE&SCERT) were tasked with the responsibility of publishing these textbooks, which were printed according to the drafts prepared by the council.

After the distribution of the books, several errors were identified. In response, the government took decisive action by suspending the then director and three assistant directors, while also initiating disciplinary proceedings against six additional assistant directors.