Odisha Textbook Row Escalates: Naveen Patnaik Demands Accountability, BJD Intensifies Protest
Bhubaneswar: The controversy surrounding errors in Odisha’s newly published school textbooks has intensified, with the opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) stepping up its demand for the resignation of School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond.
On Tuesday, members of the Biju Yuva Janata Dal (BYJD) and Biju Chhatra Janata Dal (BCJD) held a peaceful demonstration in Bhubaneswar, demanding the minister’s resignation and a CBI investigation into the large number of mistakes found in textbooks for Classes I to VIII.
Leader of Opposition and BJD president Naveen Patnaik also expressed deep concern over the issue, stating that school textbooks serve as the first and most trusted source of knowledge for children.
Taking to social media platform X, Patnaik said that while children may question many things, they rarely doubt what is written in their textbooks. According to him, textbooks not only impart knowledge but also help build trust in institutions and society.
He argued that the Odisha BJP government’s handling of the textbook issue has undermined that trust, affecting lakhs of students across the state. Patnaik warned that the impact of such mistakes goes beyond printing errors and could damage confidence in the education system itself.
The former Chief Minister further questioned who would take responsibility for the loss of faith among students, even if corrected editions are published in the future. He maintained that while textbooks can be revised, the erosion of trust among an entire generation of learners cannot be easily repaired.
The controversy comes in the wake of the state government’s action against officials linked to the publication process. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi recently suspended four senior officials, including former Director of Teachers’ Training and SCERT, Manoj Padhi, and initiated disciplinary proceedings against six others after an inquiry into the matter.
The textbook row erupted after approximately 1,678 errors were reportedly identified in the newly printed textbooks, drawing sharp criticism from opposition parties, educators, and academic experts across Odisha.
