Serious concerns have emerged over the quality of Odisha’s newly revised school textbooks, with teachers’ associations and parent groups alleging that the books distributed to students contain hundreds of errors ranging from spelling mistakes and factual inaccuracies to incorrect photographs and geographical descriptions.

The textbooks, prepared for classes one to eight under the framework of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, have already been distributed across the state for the 2026-27 academic session.

According to PTI, the errors include “spelling mistakes, incorrect names of eminent personalities, and factual inaccuracies to wrong photographs.”

Highlighting some of the mistakes, Odisha Primary School Teachers’ Association president Brahmananda Maharana told The Hindu, “Instead of the Odisha Legislative Assembly, a photograph of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly has been used. In another case, Berhampur has been incorrectly identified as a district, though it is actually a city in Ganjam district. There is no district named Berhampur.”

Maharana alleged that the total number of mistakes across the textbooks stands at 1,678.

A report in The New Indian Express said class eight textbooks account for the highest number of errors, with 705 mistakes identified.

Among the inaccuracies flagged are the incorrect placement of the Niyamgiri Hills, home to the Dongria Kondh Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group, in Jharkhand instead of Odisha. An image of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Vijaya Vitthala Temple in Hampi has also reportedly been used in place of Odisha’s Konark Sun Temple. The textbooks further refer to the Dongria tribe as “Dongaria”, while an English textbook reportedly spells “greatest” as “gretest”.

Parents’ groups have strongly criticised the lapses.

“These are not mistakes, but crimes. The government must take responsibility. It cannot play with the future of students,” Basudev Bhat, president of the Odisha Parents’ Federation, was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

Bhat also questioned how the authorities would rectify the situation, pointing out the lengthy timeline involved in reprinting and redistributing the books.

“Even if they decide to reprint books, it will take three months to complete the process and an additional three months to supply the books,” he added.

According to the Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA), the books were prepared by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) as an “experimental edition” for the 2026-27 academic session in line with NEP 2020.
Questioning the haste with which the books were released, Maharana called for accountability.

“Why was the department in a hurry to print and distribute the books without carrying out the necessary proofreading? A probe should be launched into the matter and appropriate action taken against those responsible for such errors,” Maharana was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express.

School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond acknowledged the shortcomings but described them as printing-related issues.

“As the textbooks were newly prepared, there might have been some printing mistakes,” Gond was quoted as saying by PTI.

The controversy has also triggered political reactions. Describing the issue as a “national embarrassment”, Biju Janata Dal spokesperson Lenin Mohanty demanded the immediate withdrawal of all the allegedly defective textbooks.

He argued that “such errors not only undermine the Odia language, literature and culture, but also jeopardise the future of students”.

With thousands of books already in circulation, the controversy has raised broader questions about the textbook review process, quality control mechanisms and the implementation of curriculum changes under the NEP framework in Odisha.