Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Parents’ Federation on Monday launched a ‘Sikhya Satyagraha’ in Bhubaneswar, demanding the immediate withdrawal of error-ridden textbooks supplied to government schools for students of Classes I to VIII.
Federation members staged the protest seeking corrective action over what they described as a serious lapse in the preparation and distribution of school textbooks. They alleged that the books contained a large number of errors and said the issue had caused embarrassment to the state’s education system.
Federation member Prasanna Bisoyi said the agitation would continue until the error-ridden textbooks were withdrawn.
“The mistakes in the textbooks reflect an extremely insensitive and irresponsible lapse. Such errors can have a serious impact on students and bring disrepute to the state,” the federation said.
Describing the episode as a “black chapter” in the history of Odisha’s education system, the parents’ body demanded that the government immediately recall the faulty textbooks and provide corrected copies to students.
The federation also raised broader demands concerning access to education. It sought the extension of the 25% provision under the Right to Education (RTE) Act for free education to students from economically weaker sections from Class VIII to Class XII.
It further demanded that vocational education be brought under the government’s free KG-to-PG education scheme, arguing that students should have access to skill-based education along with conventional academic courses.
The federation said the government should take immediate steps to address the textbook issue and ensure that such lapses do not recur. It maintained that the ‘Sikhya Satyagraha’ would continue until its demand for withdrawal of the error-ridden books was met.
