Odisha Minister Defends Textbook Errors Amidst Media Scrutiny: What's Really Happening?

Minister Responds to Textbook Controversy

Bhubaneswar: Nityananda Gond, the Minister for School and Mass Education in Odisha, stated on Thursday that reports regarding inaccuracies in the Odia textbooks for Class I in English medium private schools have been overstated.

During a press briefing following a meeting with Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Gond assured that revised textbooks would soon be distributed to students.

Concerns arose after significant errors were identified in the textbooks provided by the Odisha government, including mistakes in the National Anthem and the state song within the Odia textbook for Class I students in private institutions.

Although these schools operate independently, the state government is responsible for supplying the Odia language textbooks.

Addressing the reported inaccuracies in the National Anthem and state song, Gond remarked, "The media coverage does not reflect the reality."

He emphasized that the claims regarding errors in the Class I textbooks have been misrepresented by certain media outlets.

"The errors being reported are not as they are being depicted. Corrected textbooks will be made available to students shortly," he added.

Additionally, he responded to claims about the inclusion of the song 'Nimbooda Nimbooda' from the 1999 film 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam' in the Odia school curriculum.

"This has been misrepresented. The National Education Policy (NEP) promotes the inclusion of songs and cultural content from various regions, which is why 'Nimbooda Nimbooda' was included in the textbooks," Gond explained.

He accused the media of spreading misinformation and urged them to refrain from fostering negativity.

This statement followed his department's earlier assertion that the allegations regarding errors in the Class I textbooks were "unjustified."

The recent errors were uncovered as the CID-Crime Branch of the Odisha Police investigates widespread inaccuracies in textbooks for students from classes 1 to 8 in Odia medium government schools.

More than 1,600 errors, including misspellings and incorrect names of notable figures, were identified in 55 books provided by the department.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has instructed the CID to investigate the extensive mistakes found in the textbooks, suspecting a potential "conspiracy" behind the publication of these flawed materials.

In the meantime, the opposition Congress party pointed out that the CID-CB has only arrested one individual in connection with the previous textbook errors.

They referred to Manoj Padhi, the former director of the State Council of Educational Research & Training, who was arrested on July 13 for negligence in textbook preparation and was granted bail on Wednesday.

"How can just one person be responsible for such a conspiracy as suggested by the chief minister? What actions is the CID-CB taking after arresting only one individual?" questioned Rajani Mohanty, a spokesperson for the Congress party.

The Congress also called on the government to provide a timeline for when corrected textbooks will be available in schools throughout the state.