Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Thursday formally initiated the process of revising and printing new school textbooks following the controversy surrounding factual, language, and content-related errors in the existing books. A high-level review meeting was held at the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) headquarters in Bhubaneswar to finalise the roadmap for correcting the textbooks and preparing revised editions.
The meeting was chaired by senior officials of the School and Mass Education Department and was attended by the School and Mass Education Minister, the department’s Secretary, the Director of the Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA), and senior SCERT officials.
Review Focuses on Correcting Textbook Errors
During the meeting, officials carried out a detailed review of textbooks that had attracted criticism over factual inaccuracies, language mistakes, and content-related issues.
Copies of the affected textbooks were examined extensively, with discussions focusing on identifying errors and incorporating necessary corrections before the books are sent for printing.
Officials stressed the need to ensure that the revised textbooks are academically accurate, free from errors, and aligned with the prescribed curriculum.
SCERT Presents Revision Roadmap
Officials from SCERT made a comprehensive presentation outlining the strategy for revising the textbooks, restructuring portions of the curriculum where required, and completing the printing process within the stipulated timeline.
The presentation also covered quality control measures, editorial review mechanisms, and the proposed schedule for printing and distributing the corrected textbooks to schools across the state.
The department is expected to closely monitor each stage of the process to prevent similar issues in future editions.
Government Responds to Textbook Controversy
The review meeting comes after widespread criticism over numerous errors found in several school textbooks, which sparked concern among parents, teachers, educationists, and students.
In response, the School and Mass Education Department ordered a comprehensive review of the affected books and decided to publish corrected editions.
Earlier, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi had stated that the government suspected a larger conspiracy behind the unusually high number of printing and content errors in the textbooks. He had announced that all defective copies would be withdrawn and replaced with newly printed versions after thorough verification.
Focus on Quality and Accuracy
The Odisha government has reiterated its commitment to providing students with high-quality learning materials and ensuring that textbooks meet academic standards.
Officials said the revision exercise aims not only to correct existing mistakes but also to strengthen the textbook preparation, editing, and quality-checking process to avoid similar issues in the future.
The fresh set of textbooks is expected to be printed and supplied to schools after the revision process is completed, ensuring that students receive accurate and reliable educational content.
