Bhubaneswar,14/07(JNS): The school textbook controversy in Odisha has escalated into a major political and criminal investigation. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi ordered a formal Crime Branch probe after a high-level committee exposed massive irregularities, negligence, and a suspected “larger conspiracy” behind the flawed study materials.An audit officially confirmed 1,678 printing, grammatical, and factual errors across 55 newly printed textbooks for Classes I to VIII. Class VIII books alone accounted for 705 errors. The most glaring blunders include that a textbook placed Odisha’s Niyamgiri Hills in Jharkhand. A photograph of the Karnataka Vidhana Soudha was labeled as the Odisha Legislative Assembly, and an image of Hampi was used instead of the Konark Sun Temple. A Class IV textbook claimed that the Pandavas and Kauravas played Kabaddi and that Dushasana slapped Yudhisthira. Another text stated that Goddess Sita gave birth to Lav and Kush in Odisha’s Keonjhar district, adding superstitious claims that circumambulating her cradle cures medical complications. A Class V textbook reproduced verbatim the lyrics of the Bollywood item song “Nimbuda Nimbuda”.In a botched attempt to issue a correction list (corrigendum), the panel misread a true-or-false exercise, accidentally labeling scientist Sir Isaac Newton as the “Greatest Pilot”.
A high-level inquiry panel led by the Development Commissioner found severe supervision lapses. The state government took immediate action against Four Senior Officials that the former Director of SCERT, Manoj Kumar Padhi, and three Assistant Directors (Pralipta Mishra, Dilip Kumar Sahu, and Bharati Tudu) were suspended. Formal department proceedings have been initiated against six other Assistant Directors.
The Chief Minister publicly stated that this was not a simple proofreading oversight. The government suspects a deliberate conspiracy because the errors were flagged internally back in March-April, yet officials sat on the reports and allowed the flawed books to print. The Crime Branch has registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including sections 316(5) (criminal breach of trust) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy). Investigators will interrogate publishers, DTP agencies, vetting committees, and suspended officials. If a conspiracy is proven, the government plans to recover the multi-crore reprinting costs directly from the guilty individuals. To ensure the academic year is not completely derailed, School and Mass Education Secretary N Thirumala Naik announced the following roadmap.
- Flawed textbooks are being recalled, and completely revised, error-free versions are being printed.
- Corrected digital textbooks are being uploaded to the Official OSEPA Portal for immediate classroom use.
- A permanent Textbook Quality Assurance Cell and a Master Errata Register have been approved to prevent future lapses.
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