Odisha School Textbook Errors: Four Officials, Including Former Director, Suspended
The government reviewed the committee's findings before ordering disciplinary action against the officials held accountable: Reports
BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Government on Friday cracked down on officials held responsible for glaring errors in school textbooks for Classes I to VIII in the current academic session, suspending four officers, including a former director, after a high-level inquiry found serious lapses in the preparation and publication of textbooks for the current academic session.
Former director of Teachers' Training, Manoj Padhi, was placed under suspension along with three Assistant Directors for their alleged role in the textbook irregularities. The state government has also initiated disciplinary proceedings against six other assistant directors in connection with the episode.
The action followed the submission of a report by a three-member committee constituted by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to investigate the errors that triggered widespread criticism from teachers, parents and the Opposition. Headed by the Development Commissioner D.K.Singh, the committee submitted its findings to the Chief Minister within the seven-day deadline set by him.
According to official sources, the government reviewed the committee's findings before ordering disciplinary action against the officials held accountable. The inquiry was tasked with identifying the officers, agencies and individuals responsible for the mistakes and recommending corrective measures to prevent similar lapses in future.
The controversy erupted after numerous factual, typographical and printing errors were detected in textbooks distributed to students for the 2025-26 academic session. The mistakes sparked outrage across the state, with educators questioning the quality control mechanisms in the textbook publication process.
Describing the issue as a matter of grave concern, Chief Minister Majhi had earlier said the unusually large number of errors raised suspicion of a "larger conspiracy" behind the textbook fiasco. He had asserted that the government would not tolerate negligence affecting students' education and promised exemplary action against those found responsible.
The Chief Minister had also directed the authorities to immediately withdraw all defective textbooks from schools and replace them with freshly printed, error-free copies to ensure that students' learning was not adversely affected.
The disciplinary action marks the first major administrative fallout from the textbook controversy, with the state government indicating that accountability would be fixed at every level of the publication process.
