Bhubaneswar, July 2 (UDN): In a bid to improve the quality of school education and address concerns over errors in recently introduced textbooks, the Odisha government has invited public feedback on revised textbooks prepared for students of Classes I to IV.
The School and Mass Education Department has uploaded the draft textbooks on the official websites of the department, the Directorate of Teacher Education, the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), and the Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA), enabling teachers, parents, educationists and the general public to review the content.
In an official communication shared on social media, the government appealed to stakeholders to examine the revised textbooks carefully and submit suggestions or point out any factual, linguistic or content-related errors within seven days.
Feedback can be submitted through email at textbookscertodisha@gmail.com or by contacting the Vidya Samiksha Kendra helpline at 1800-345-6722.
The initiative comes in the aftermath of a controversy surrounding errors and inaccuracies detected in newly introduced school textbooks, which drew criticism from educationists, parents and opposition parties. The government has adopted a participatory approach to ensure that the revised textbooks are academically sound, factually accurate and suitable for classroom use before their final publication.
Earlier in the day, the state government also initiated the process of preparing and printing the revised textbooks. A high-level review meeting was held at the SCERT headquarters in Bhubaneswar under the chairmanship of the School and Mass Education Minister. The meeting was attended by the department’s Secretary, the Director of OSEPA and senior SCERT officials.
The review focused on expediting the revision process, strengthening the academic review mechanism and ensuring that future editions of textbooks undergo rigorous scrutiny before being distributed to students.
Officials said the feedback received from teachers, subject experts and the public will be examined carefully and incorporated wherever necessary, reinforcing the government’s commitment to providing error-free, high-quality learning materials for schoolchildren across the state.