Bhubaneswar: In a major development in the matter of a large number of mistakes found in newly prepared school textbooks, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday ordered immediate corrective measures and directed an inquiry to identify those responsible for the lapses.

The Chief Minister chaired a high-level meeting at Lok Seva Bhavan after serious errors were detected in textbooks prepared for Classes I to VIII for the 2026-27 academic session. School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond, Chief Secretary Anu Garg and senior officials from various departments participated in the meeting.

According to an official release from the Chief Minister's Office, Majhi directed the officials to take immediate steps to rectify the mistakes. He also directed the formation of a three-member committee under the chairmanship of the Development Commissioner to investigate how the errors occurred and determine the officials or institutions responsible.

The committee has been asked to submit its report within seven days. Based on its findings, strict action will be taken against the officials or agencies found accountable for the lapses.

The move comes after the School and Mass Education Department acknowledged serious errors in the revised textbooks and prepared a list of corrections. Reports indicate that as many as 1,678 mistakes have been identified across textbooks for Classes I to VIII, including spelling errors, factual inaccuracies, incorrect names of eminent personalities and wrong photographs.

Class VIII textbooks reportedly contain the highest number of errors, with 705 mistakes detected.

Among the major discrepancies reported, a photograph of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly was mistakenly used instead of the Odisha Legislative Assembly. The Niyamgiri Hills of Odisha were incorrectly shown as being located in Jharkhand, while Ganjam district was wrongly referred to as Berhampur district, even though Berhampur is a city within Ganjam.

The textbooks were prepared in accordance with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the Odisha Curriculum Framework for School Education 2025. The Directorate of Teacher Education and the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) were entrusted with developing the books, with the involvement of experienced teachers and education experts.

However, the discovery of a large number of mistakes has raised serious questions about the quality control, editing and review processes followed before the textbooks were approved for publication and distribution.