BHUBANESWAR: From an image of the iconic Stone Chariot at Hampi’s Vijaya Vitthala Temple being used in place of the Konark Sun Temple to a picture of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly replacing the Odisha Assembly, and even Berhampur being presented as a district, the state government has come under scrutiny over more than 1,600 errors in textbooks prescribed for Classes I to VIII this academic session.
The new textbooks, revised and published in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, have been found to contain a significant number of errors, including grammatical mistakes, incorrect identification of landmarks, wrong tribal nomenclature and geographical inaccuracies.
A total of 1,678 factual and typographical errors have so far been detected in textbooks for Classes I to VIII at the elementary level, with Class VIII textbooks accounting for the highest number of inaccuracies at 705. The errors span subjects ranging from Odia and English to Social Science.
Among the blunders, a picture of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Hampi has been featured in place of Odisha’s UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Konark Sun Temple. Similarly, a photograph of Karnataka’s Vidhan Soudha has been erroneously printed as the Odisha Legislative Assembly in a Class VIII Social Science textbook.
Geographical and cultural references have also been misrepresented, with the state’s Niyamgiri Hills mentioned as being located in Jharkhand and the Dongria tribe referred to as “Dongaria”.
Similarly, Berhampur city has been identified as a district, while spelling errors have also been found in the names of eminent personalities printed in various books. There is also a significant number of grammatical errors in Odia, English and other textbooks. For instance, “greatest” is spelt as “gretest” in an English textbook.
According to the Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA), the textbooks were prepared by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) as an “Experimental Edition” for the academic session 2026-27 in line with NEP 2020.
The books have already been printed and distributed among elementary-level students across all districts.
An OSEPA officer, however, said that SCERT has come up with a set of corrections that are to be followed scrupulously at all levels during classroom teaching.
School and Mass Education (SME) Minister Nityananda Gond termed the errors as printing mistakes. He told TNIE that instructions have been issued to the officials concerned in the department as well as at the district level to ensure that the errors are rectified before the subjects are taught in schools.
As the textbooks have already been printed and distributed, teachers have been instructed to correct the errors before classroom teaching begins after the summer vacation, he said.
After the state government announced the implementation of NEP 2020 last year, the SME department decided to prepare textbooks in line with the new policy.
“We then had to wait for the new National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) syllabus. Following the introduction of the new NCERT syllabus, new textbooks for students from Classes I to VIII were prepared within a short period for the 2026-27 academic year,” Gond said.
“Printing the books within such a limited timeframe might have led to some errors. However, steps are being taken to address the issue. Officials have also been directed to ensure that such errors do not recur in the future,” he told TNIE.
The Primary Teachers’ Association, meanwhile, demanded a thorough probe into the matter and sought to know whether experienced teachers had been engaged in the preparation of these textbooks.
“Why was the department in a hurry to print and distribute the books without carrying out the necessary proofreading? A probe should be launched into the matter and appropriate action taken against those responsible for such errors,” Odisha Primary School Teachers’ Association president Brahmananda Maharana said.
With many students yet to receive their books, the government should initiate efforts to distribute error-free textbooks to them when schools reopen after the summer vacation.
monumental mistakes
Total errors detected: 1,678
Classes covered: I to VIII
Worst affected: Class VIII
Errors in Class VIII textbooks: 705
Books prepared under: NEP 2020 framework
Printed and distributed statewide
This story is reported by Sudarsan Maharana