Education Minister Admits 1,741 Errors in New School Textbooks; Opposition Demands Minister’s Resignation

26 Sep 2026, 05:03 by Vinay Kakkad · KalingaTV

Bhubaneswar: A Rs 175-crore textbook project for primary and middle school students in Odisha has triggered a political storm, after the state government admitted to finding 1,741 errors in new books printed for Classes I to VIII for the 2026–27 school year.

School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond confirmed the numbers in a written reply to the Odisha Assembly on Friday. The issue was raised by Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLA Goutam Buddha Das and others.

The 1,741 mistakes admitted by the minister is higher than the 1,678 errors initially listed by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT).

Class VIII books had the highest number of errors, with 707 mistakes recorded. Within that class, science books had the worst record, with 294 inaccuracies. Across all classes, the errors included factual mistakes, wrong concepts, bad grammar, typing blunders, spelling errors, and wrong photos.

The government has taken action against 10 officials so far. The former director and three assistant directors (also referred to as deputy directors) of the Directorate of Teacher Education (TE) and SCERT have been suspended. Disciplinary proceedings have started against six other SCERT assistant directors, and the Crime Branch CID (CB-CID) has launched an investigation into the entire matter.

Explaining how these mistakes happened, Gond said the books were drafted, reviewed, and proofread in workshop sessions before going to a core committee for final approval. After that, subject experts reviewed them for just one day. A separate three-member inquiry committee later found serious gaps in this review process, noting that mistakes slipped through in the text, basic concepts, facts, pictures, and language.

The issue caused chaos inside the Assembly on Friday, halting business for the fourth straight day during the ongoing Monsoon Session. Opposition MLAs from both the BJD and Congress stormed the Well of the House, shouting slogans about the textbook errors alongside protests against the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Amendment Act.

The opposition demanded Gond’s resignation, arguing that as the minister in charge, he must take responsibility for distributing flawed books to school children. The BJD had earlier threatened street protests and a gherao of the Assembly over the issue.

The ruling BJP defended the minister. BJP MLA Ashok Mohanty told the House that Gond would not resign because the government had already taken swift disciplinary steps against the officials responsible for the errors.

On the ground, the education department has sent out correction sheets to schools so teachers and students can fix the errors immediately. Meanwhile, the state is continuing to print and distribute revised, corrected copies of the textbooks.