Odisha To Issue Revised, Error-Free School Textbooks After Statewide Review
The move comes amid widespread criticism over errors detected in several recently introduced school textbooks. The government, however, maintained that the actual number of mistakes is significantly lower than what has been projected in public discourse.
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Wednesday announced that it will replace the current school textbooks with revised, error-free editions after completing a comprehensive review of mistakes identified in the existing books.
School and mass education secretary N. Thirumala Naik said the exercise to identify and rectify errors is being carried out with the assistance of educationists, subject experts and editorial teams. The revised textbooks will be uploaded online for public feedback before their final printing and distribution across the state.
The move comes amid widespread criticism over errors detected in several recently introduced school textbooks. The government, however, maintained that the actual number of mistakes is significantly lower than what has been projected in public discourse.
According to the department, corrections will cover linguistic, grammatical, spelling and factual inaccuracies. Officials said the review also involves cross-verification with authoritative reference works, including the ‘Purnachandra Bhashakosha’ and other recognised Odia dictionaries, to ensure consistency and accuracy in language usage.
Naik said certain issues raised in the media involve differences in accepted spellings and interpretations rather than clear-cut errors, making some of the criticisms subjective.
Pending the arrival of the revised books, classroom teaching will continue using corrected content prepared by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) and circulated to District Education Officers through the Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA). Teachers will receive orientation on the revised material before using it in classrooms to ensure students' learning is not disrupted.
"Very soon, the revised textbooks will be uploaded on the websites of the School and Mass Education Department and OSEPA to seek feedback from educationists and the general public. Based on the suggestions received, the final versions will be prepared and distributed," Naik told reporters.
He said the government was committed to supplying completely error-free textbooks to every school student in the state at the earliest.
“Until the new books are available, teachers will be provided with corrected information and trained to teach from the revised content,” he said.
Officials said arrangements are already underway to upload the revised textbooks online, while the final printed editions will be distributed to schools immediately after the review and consultation process is completed.
The announcement follows mounting public scrutiny over errors in Odisha's school textbooks, prompting the government to initiate a comprehensive review and assure students, teachers and parents that future editions will meet higher standards of academic and linguistic accuracy.
