Balasore, Aug. 25: An error has been spotted in a chapter of Sahityika, a Class VIII textbook for government schools. Published by the school and mass education department, the textbooks were supplied to the schools under Sarva Sikshya Abhiyan.
In the third sentence of a poetry chapter titled Shiva Ratri on page 19, the father’s name of legendary Oriya freedom fighter Gopabandhu Das has been erroneously mentioned as Bhagban Das. This has caused confusion among the students leaving the teachers and parents in shock.
However, higher authorities, as well as Sarva Sikshya Abhiyan officials, have expressed their ignorance about the error. Nevertheless, they said they would look into the matter. “No one has brought these (errors) to my notice. The textbooks are supplied through the Sarva Sikshya Abhiyan. However, after verifying the allegations, I would inform the authorities concerned for necessary action,” said Purnachandra Sethi, district inspector of schools, Balasore.
District project coordinator Pradipta Kishor Mahapatra said he was yet to receive complaints regarding the error. “Once I check the textbooks myself, I would then apprise the director of the errors,” he said.
A parent said: “These days, the editing and printing are being done casually. This is not only one instance. Earlier too, mistakes in the textbooks of other classes were detected.”
The authorities should be careful before supplying books to schools. The mistakes not only create confusion, but also can spark controversies.”
The teachers, too, admit that the textbooks are not free from mistakes. However, they said work pressure of the school and mass education department officials could have led to the errors.
“The mistake might have happened owing to the workload on the persons associated with bringing out the textbooks printing of textbooks. In this academic session, several mistakes were found in Sanskrit books of a particular class and those were brought to the notice of the authorities,” said Murali Nayak, a block resource centre coordinator.
