What’s Wrong with Odisha's Class-I Textbooks? Major Errors Spark Controversy!

A recent investigation has uncovered alarming errors in Odisha's Class-I textbooks, including inaccuracies in the National Anthem and state song. The School and Mass Education Department has dismissed these claims as unjustified, asserting that corrections are underway. Teachers and parents are calling for immediate action, urging the government to provide printed textbooks instead of PDFs. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has ordered a CID probe into the matter, suspecting a conspiracy behind the publication of these flawed materials. Read on to learn more about this unfolding controversy and its implications for education in Odisha.

By Ambika Singh Aug 5, 2026, 21:33 IST

Textbook Errors in Odisha Raise Concerns

Bhubaneswar: Recent findings have revealed significant errors in the textbooks used in Odisha's government schools, including inaccuracies in the National Anthem and the state song within the Class-I English medium Odia textbooks.

Although these schools are privately operated, the state government is responsible for providing the Odia language textbooks.

The School and Mass Education Department has dismissed these claims as 'unjustified', asserting that they are actively working to rectify the errors.

These new discrepancies were uncovered during an investigation by the CID-Crime Branch of the Odisha Police, which is looking into widespread errors in textbooks for students from Classes I to VIII in Odia medium government schools.

More than 1,600 errors, such as spelling mistakes and incorrect names of notable figures, have been identified across 55 textbooks supplied by the department.

A teacher highlighted a serious error in the Odia textbook titled 'Jhulana-1', where the word 'Utkala' in the National Anthem is misspelled.

Additionally, there is a mistake in the state song 'Bande Utkala Janani' (Hail Mother Odisha), where one 'Ghana' is missing from the phrase 'Ghana Ghana Banabhumi' (series of forests), as noted by a teacher from Jagatsinghpur district.

Teachers have also criticized the language textbook for introducing the Odia alphabet in an unconventional order, starting with the consonant 'Cha' instead of the vowel 'Aa', which has confused both students and educators.

Moreover, the department has been accused of sending a 168-page PDF document to various schools instead of providing physical books, forcing parents to print the PDF for their children.

Parents are now calling on the government to amend the errors in the textbooks and supply printed versions instead of PDFs.

In response, the School and Mass Education Department has rejected media claims of new errors as 'unjustified'.

They stated that corrections are being made based on feedback from education experts and that updated textbooks will be distributed to students shortly.

ସଂଶୋଧନ ପରେ ମଧ୍ୟ ପାଠ୍ୟ ପୁସ୍ତକରେ ତ୍ରୁଟି ଖବର ସମ୍ପର୍କରେ ସ୍ପଷ୍ଟୀକରଣ

ସଂଶୋଧିତ ପାଠ୍ୟ ପୁସ୍ତକରେ ତ୍ରୁଟି ଥିବା କିଛି ଗଣମାଧ୍ୟମରେ ପ୍ରଚାର କରାଯାଉଛି । ଏଠାରେ ଏହା ସ୍ପଷ୍ଟ କରାଯାଉଅଛି ଯେ, ଉକ୍ତ ଖବରର କୌଣସି ଯଥାର୍ଥତା ନାହିଁ । ବିଭିନ୍ନ ଶିକ୍ଷାବିତ୍ ଓ ବିଷୟ ବିଶେଷଜ୍ଞଙ୍କ ମତାମତ ଆଧାରରେ ପାଠ୍ୟପୁସ୍ତକଗୁଡ଼ିକର ସଂଶୋଧନ ଜାରି…

— EducationOdisha (@SMEOdisha) August 5, 2026

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has instructed the CID to investigate the extensive errors previously found in the textbooks.

Majhi suspects a potential 'conspiracy' behind the publication of these flawed educational materials.