Former SCERT director arrested over Odisha textbooks mistakes

The Odisha Police Crime Branch on Tuesday arrested the former director of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) in connection with the alleged criminal conspiracy in preparing error-filled school textbooks for classes 1 to 8.

The crime branch, which is investigating the case, said that senior Odisha Administrative Service official Manoj Kumar Padhy, during his tenure as director of SCERT, was entrusted with “overall supervision, coordination, monitoring and approval of the textbook development process” under the National Education Policy 2020.

‘Didn’t do his duty’

“He dishonestly discharged his entrusted official duties and knowingly approved and forwarded manuscripts ready for printing for publication without ensuring verification of their factual, scientific, geographical and pictorial content, which amounted to criminal negligence,” said a statement issued by the crime branch.

“Such acts and omissions led to the publication and distribution of faulty textbooks, causing undue loss to the exchequer of around ₹ 175 crore and corresponding injury to public interest,” he added.

Mr. Padhy was charged under Sections 316(5), 201, 61(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. He was among four officers who were suspended after a high-level committee headed by Development Commissioner DK Singh found deficiencies in the preparation of textbooks. Another six employees face disciplinary proceedings in the case.

1,678 errors

While some errors were grammatical and spelling errors, others included factual inaccuracies. The government acknowledged that there were a total of 1,678 errors in various textbooks.

Published – Jul 15, 2026 0:51 AM IST