Overview
- Teachers who began reviewing the newly supplied Class I–VIII books on Tuesday flagged 1,678 mistakes that include wrong photographs, misspelt names, misplaced geography and bizarre factual errors such as Isaac Newton being misdescribed.
- Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi convened a review on Wednesday and formed a three-member high-level committee chaired by the Development Commissioner to probe the lapses and submit a report within seven days.
- The School and Mass Education Department has issued a corrigendum to schools and told teachers to use the corrections while the government promises to rectify errors and strengthen quality checks in textbook production.
- Opposition parties and student groups have demanded withdrawal of the defective books, resignations and strict accountability, and protesters demonstrated in Bhubaneswar calling the books an assault on Odia identity.
- Education stakeholders warn that revising, reprinting and redistributing corrected editions will take months, Class VIII titles alone account for 705 reported errors, and many pupils may use flawed materials for a large part of the academic year.