Odisha CM orders criminal investigation into errors in school textbooks

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Saturday (July 11) ordered a criminal investigation into the large-scale errors detected in the textbooks of students from class 1 to class 8.

Taking the incident seriously, the Chief Minister has asked the Director of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) to file an FIR with the Crime Branch SP, a statement issued by the CMO said.

The SCERT was the State agency that printed the textbooks, which were circulated among over 40 lakh students across the state. Over 1,600 errors, including describing scientist Isaac Newton as a pilot, were detected in 55 textbooks for students in classes 1 to class 8.

At a private meeting, the Chief Minister also did not rule out the possibility of a "conspiracy" behind such errors intended to defame the State's BJP Government. His suspicion was due to the unusually high number of mistakes—including mislabeled locations and factual blunders.

Earlier, CM Majhi had set up a high-level administrative committee headed by Development Commissioner D.K. Singh to inquire into the matter, following which the state government placed the then SCERT director and three other assistant directors under suspension. This apart, the government has also initiated disciplinary proceedings against six other assistant directors of SCERT.