Education On The Edge: Factual Errors Pop Up In Odisha School Textbooks

Bhubaneswar: In what could become a major concern for students of State-run schools in Odisha, factually wrong information has been found in the textbooks of both Class 3 and Class 9 leaving the future of students in jeopardy.

Reports say, a textbook of Class 3 mentions Shyamasundar Singh as the father of great astrologer and scientist Pathani Samanta, whereas his real name is Shyamabandhu Singh.

Similarly, on page 97 of the book 'Sahitya Dhara', the great saint-poet Bhima Bhoi is wrongly mentioned as 'Bhakta Kabi Bhima Bhoi' in place of 'Santha Kabi Bhima Bhoi'.

While 'Bhakta Kabi' is an honor bestowed upon the great Odia poet Madhusudan Rao, it's alleged that the government is trying to mislead the students by terming Bhima Bhoi as 'Bhakta Kabi'.

When asked about the process of compiling information in textbooks, an eminent educationist, Niranjan Panda said, "The responsibility of compiling lessons in the textbooks from Class 1 to Class 8 is vested upon the State Council Of Educational Research & Training of Odisha. Similarly, textbooks of classes nine and ten are compiled by Board of Secondary Education."

"Both SCERT and BSE are fully responsible for this debacle. The respective authorities should have reviewed the books by the authors at the time of editing, they can't simply leave that task to the printing agencies as they are generally not that qualified," adds Panda.