Odisha Government Decides Against Printing New Textbooks Amid Errors

BHUBANESWAR: Even as Odisha government has formed a three-member panel to probe large-scale errors in the new textbooks prescribed for classes I to VIII, the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) on Thursday made it clear that no fresh books would be issued. Instead, teachers will have to use a corrigendum to teach students from the same textbooks during the current academic year. The responsibility of rectifying the errors and ensuring proper learning will rest with teachers at the school level, the council said. While errors in textbooks for primary classes will be corrected by teachers, students of higher classes will make the corrections in their books under their teachers’ guidance. SCERT director Madhusmita Sahoo, who acknowledged the errors, said the books printed under the new syllabus had already been distributed. “The same books will continue to be used with necessary corrections. However, the council will take all measures to ensure that such lapses do not recur from the 2027-28 academic session onwards,” Sahoo told mediapersons. She said the errors brought to SCERT’s notice had been corrected and communicated to teachers through a corrigendum. Teachers will now rectify the mistakes and teach students accordingly, she added. Sources said around 2.8 crore textbooks had been printed, of which more than 85 per cent have already been distributed. Meanwhile, acting on the instructions of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, the government has constituted a three-member committee headed by Development Commissioner D K Singh to investigate the errors. The committee has been tasked with identifying the stages at which the mistakes occurred and fixing responsibility on the officials or agencies concerned.