Archive · 24 Sep 2026
Panel Finds Weak Review Behind 1,700 Odisha Textbook Errors
A panel checked Odisha’s new school textbooks.
It found more than 1,700 mistakes.
Some mistakes were about facts and ideas.
Others involved grammar, pictures, language and references.
The panel said these were not just printing problems.
It said some people had too many jobs in the review process.
It also said the books were checked too quickly and not carefully enough.
The Biju Janata Dal protested and asked the education minister to resign.
A three-member panel examined more than 1,700 errors in newly published Odisha school textbooks.
The errors involved facts, concepts, pictures, language, grammar and references, rather than only printing.
The panel reportedly found the same resource persons serving in multiple roles.
It cited weak academic scrutiny, weak final approval and unrealistic timelines as contributing factors.
Biju Janata Dal workers protested outside the state Assembly, seeking Minister Nityananda Gond’s resignation.
- Who
- A three-member panel investigated the errors; the Biju Janata Dal’s youth and student wings protested; Minister Nityananda Gond was asked to resign.
- What
- The panel examined more than 1,700 errors in Odisha school textbooks and identified weaknesses in their preparation and review.
- When
- The report was discussed after the errors emerged; the Biju Janata Dal protest took place on Wednesday.
- Where
- The textbooks were published in Odisha, and protesters gathered outside the state Assembly.
- Why
- The panel attributed the errors to overlapping resource-person roles, weak academic scrutiny and approval, and unrealistic timelines.
- Errors identified
- More than 1,700
- Investigating body
- A three-member panel
- Error types
- Factual, grammatical, conceptual, linguistic, pictorial and reference-related errors
- Review problems
- Weak academic scrutiny and final academic approval
- Other contributing factors
- Resource persons holding multiple roles and unrealistic timelines
- Protest group
- The youth and student wings of the Biju Janata Dal
- Protest demand
- The resignation of School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond