Bhubaneswar: The Odisha govt has decided to supply corrected versions of error-ridden school textbooks to educational institutions instead of withdrawing the faulty copies that have already been distributed, school and mass education minister Nityananda Gond said on Monday.Addressing the media, the minister said copies of revised textbooks containing corrections would be sent to schools to ensure students are taught the right content during the ongoing academic session. The corrected copies will be distributed through district education officers (DEOs) or headmasters, who will facilitate their use in classrooms.The minister clarified that the existing textbooks with errors would not be recalled. Instead, schools will receive the corrected editions at the earliest for use in teaching.“The officials concerned are rectifying whatever errors have happened in the textbooks and revised editions will be supplied to schools at the earliest. The DEOs have been directed to ensure that the corrected textbooks reach all schools and teachers would be required to only use these revised editions of textbooks for classroom teaching,” he said.The textbooks are being revised in line with the 14-point recommendations of the three-member committee constituted by the state govt following CM Mohan Charan Majhi’s directive to inquire into the lapses. Students will thereafter be taught using the corrected versions, Gond added.Earlier, SCERT director Madhusmita Sahoo had said it was not feasible at this stage to withdraw all the textbooks and replace them with new ones. One of the committee’s key recommendations is to provide replacement pages or reprinted inserts for serious errors, along with printed correction sheets for all students.The govt came under sharp criticism after several newly-introduced textbooks for the 2026-27 academic session were found to contain hundreds of factual, grammatical and printing errors. The controversy prompted the state govt to order an inquiry and fix accountability for the lapses.Gond said the chief minister ordered an investigation immediately after the errors came to light. Based on the inquiry committee’s report, four senior officials have been suspended, while disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against six others for alleged negligence.He added that the chief minister has approved the implementation of all 14 recommendations made by the committee. The measures are aimed at preventing similar lapses in future and strengthening the textbook preparation, review and publication process.Reiterating the govt’s stand, Gond said the priority is to ensure that students do not suffer academically and that only corrected content is used for classroom teaching.
