Naveen Patnaik seeks Odisha education minister’s resignation over textbook errors

Patnaik said the minister should accept moral responsibility for the lapses and step down, drawing a parallel with the recent resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan

Updated on: Jul 27, 2026, 17:29:42 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty, Bhubaneswar

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Opposition parties in Odisha intensified pressure on the Mohan Charan Majhi government on Monday after Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik demanded the resignation of school and mass education minister Nityananda Gond, holding him accountable for widespread errors in newly introduced school textbooks.

“School and mass education minister Nityananda Gond should resign,” said Patnaik. (Facebook/NityanandaBJP)

Patnaik said the minister should accept moral responsibility for the lapses and step down, drawing a parallel with the recent resignation of former Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

“School and mass education minister Nityananda Gond should resign. There have been a number of mistakes in the textbooks for students in our state. He should follow the example of Dharmendra Pradhan and resign from the post. This is what the BJD has been demanding for the last two to three weeks,” Patnaik said.

The demand comes as the BJP government faces mounting criticism over errors found in textbooks introduced under Odisha’s revised curriculum for the 2026-27 academic session.

The controversy has snowballed after more than 1,600 mistakes were identified across textbooks for Classes I to VIII, including spelling mistakes, factual inaccuracies, incorrect maps, photographs and names, raising concerns about the quality of educational material supplied to schools.

Among the most prominent errors were the placement of Odisha’s Niyamgiri Hills in Jharkhand, the use of a photograph of the Karnataka legislative assembly in place of the Odisha assembly, and an image of Hampi incorrectly identified as the Konark Sun Temple. Teachers also flagged incorrect names of prominent personalities and mismatched photographs in several books.

A Class V textbook carried lyrics of the song Nimbooda Nimbooda from the 1999 Hindi film Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam verbatim in one of its chapters.

The issue has triggered criticism from opposition parties, educationists and parents, prompting the state government to order multiple inquiries.

CM Majhi last month constituted a three-member committee headed by development commissioner DK Singh to investigate the lapses. Based on its findings, the government last week suspended four senior officials of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) and initiated disciplinary proceedings against six other employees. The Odisha Crime Branch is also investigating the matter.

On Sunday, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhakta Charan Das demanded Gond’s resignation on moral grounds, alleging that “more than 2,000 errors had been detected in the textbooks”.

Das warned that the Congress would call for a statewide shutdown if Gond failed to resign within a week.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rejected Patnaik’s demand, accusing the BJD of hypocrisy.

BJP general secretary Biranchi Narayan Tripathy said examination paper leaks had occurred repeatedly during the BJD’s 24-year rule in Odisha and alleged that the previous government had merely suspended ministers to contain political damage instead of implementing lasting reforms.

Tripathy also defended Pradhan, saying the former Union education minister had resigned on moral grounds and continued to enjoy the support of the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

Naveen Patnaik

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