Student Congress activists staged a strong protest in Bhubaneswar on Thursday against major printing and factual errors in school textbooks for Classes I to VIII.
The protesters attempted to gherao the official residence of School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond, demanding immediate correction and accountability.
Police stopped the rally near the minister’s residence and detained several activists after they broke barricades and tried to enter the premises. Witnesses said the situation turned tense when protesters hurled eggs at the residence, prompting police deployment around the area.
Led by senior Student Congress leaders, hundreds of students marched from early morning, shouting slogans against the government’s alleged negligence. They cited grammatical mistakes, factual inaccuracies, unclear images, and printing flaws in the newly issued textbooks prepared under the National Education Policy 2020.
Student Congress leader Yasir Nawaz said the errors mislead children and reflect the government’s disregard for education quality. He demanded the withdrawal of faulty books and the distribution of corrected editions.
The organisation claimed to have identified 1,678 errors across the new textbooks and accused officials of disrespecting Odia language and culture. Protesters urged the government to reprint all books and take strict action against those responsible.
