What’s Wrong with Odisha's Class-I Textbooks? Major Errors Uncovered!

A recent investigation has uncovered alarming errors in Odisha's Class-I textbooks, including inaccuracies in the National Anthem and state song. The School and Mass Education Department has dismissed these claims as unjustified, stating that corrections are underway. Teachers and parents are demanding printed copies instead of PDFs, while the Chief Minister has ordered a probe into the situation. This article delves into the details of the controversy surrounding the educational materials provided to students in Odisha.

By Narendra Chaudhary Aug 5, 2026, 21:33 IST

Significant Errors in Odisha's Educational Materials

Bhubaneswar: Recent investigations have revealed numerous errors in textbooks used in Odisha's government schools, including significant mistakes in the National Anthem and the state song within the Class-I English medium textbooks of private institutions.

Despite these schools being privately operated, the state government is responsible for providing the Odia language textbooks.

The School and Mass Education Department has labeled the claims as 'unjustified,' asserting that they are actively working to rectify the errors.

These new discrepancies came to light as the CID-Crime Branch of the Odisha Police investigates widespread inaccuracies in textbooks for students from Classes I to VIII in Odia medium government schools.

A staggering 1,600 errors, ranging from spelling mistakes to incorrect names of notable figures, have been identified across 55 books supplied by the department.

A teacher highlighted a serious error in the Odia textbook titled 'Jhulana-1,' where the word 'Utkala' in the National Anthem is misspelled.

Additionally, there is a mistake in the state song, 'Bande Utkala Janani,' where the phrase 'Ghana Ghana Banabhumi' is missing one 'Ghana,' as pointed out by a teacher from Jagatsinghpur district.

Teachers have also criticized the sequence in which the Odia alphabet is introduced in the language textbook, starting with the consonant 'Cha' instead of the vowel 'Aa,' which has caused confusion among students and educators alike.

Furthermore, the department has been accused of sending a 168-page PDF document to various schools instead of providing physical textbooks, compelling parents to print the PDF for their children.

Parents are now urging the government to amend the errors in the textbooks and supply printed versions rather than PDFs.

In response, the School and Mass Education Department has dismissed media reports regarding new errors as 'unjustified.'

They stated that corrections are being made based on feedback from educational experts and that updated versions of the textbooks will be distributed to students shortly.

ସଂଶୋଧନ ପରେ ମଧ୍ୟ ପାଠ୍ୟ ପୁସ୍ତକରେ ତ୍ରୁଟି ଖବର ସମ୍ପର୍କରେ ସ୍ପଷ୍ଟୀକରଣ

ସଂଶୋଧିତ ପାଠ୍ୟ ପୁସ୍ତକରେ ତ୍ରୁଟି ଥିବା କିଛି ଗଣମାଧ୍ୟମରେ ପ୍ରଚାର କରାଯାଉଛି । ଏଠାରେ ଏହା ସ୍ପଷ୍ଟ କରାଯାଉଅଛି ଯେ, ଉକ୍ତ ଖବରର କୌଣସି ଯଥାର୍ଥତା ନାହିଁ । ବିଭିନ୍ନ ଶିକ୍ଷାବିତ୍ ଓ ବିଷୟ ବିଶେଷଜ୍ଞଙ୍କ ମତାମତ ଆଧାରରେ ପାଠ୍ୟପୁସ୍ତକଗୁଡ଼ିକର ସଂଶୋଧନ ଜାରି…

— EducationOdisha (@SMEOdisha) August 5, 2026

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has instructed the CID to investigate the extensive errors previously found in the textbooks.

Majhi suspects a potential 'conspiracy' behind the release of these flawed educational materials.