Bhubaneswar: The controversy over errors in Odisha’s school textbooks has intensified, with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) extending support to the ongoing student-led protest and seeking the resignation of School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond.
CJP co-convenor Saurav Das visited Odisha as part of the party’s ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign. He inspected government schools in and around Bhubaneswar and backed the Navnirman Yuva Chhatra Sangathan’s demand for accountability and reforms in the education system.
The controversy began after 1,678 factual, typographical, and printing errors were detected in textbooks for Classes I to VIII. The state government subsequently suspended four officials and initiated disciplinary proceedings against six others. It also approved 14 recommendations to strengthen the textbook preparation and review process.
The government has now started distributing corrected textbooks to students. The revised books are being supplied in phases across districts following the correction exercise.
The protest, led by the NYCS, has continued for weeks, with demonstrators demanding accountability and the minister’s resignation. Protest leaders have also announced plans for an Assembly gherao.
Das said the CJP supports the protesters and called for responsibility to be fixed for the textbook errors. The BJP, however, rejected the allegations and described the CJP’s intervention as politically motivated.
The textbook issue is expected to remain a major point of discussion during the ongoing Odisha Assembly session.