Telangana Withdraws 25 Lakh Telugu School Textbooks With Foreword Thanking Ex-CM KCR

Upon detection of the error by vigilant teachers and students, the department swiftly responded by instructing all principals to return the textbooks immediately.

The officials are awaiting instructions from School Education Commissioner on the next course of action.

Source : Pixabay

The Telangana school education department has initiated a swift recall of Telugu textbooks for Classes 1 to 10, just a day after the reopening of schools on June 12. The reason behind the recall is that the textbooks have outdated information in the foreword section which erroneously listed K. Chandrashekar Rao as Chief Minister and Sabitha Indira Reddy as the education minister.

This oversight has become an embarrassment for the Congress Government in Telangana, as it appears that the State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT) inadvertently reused the previous year’s foreword in this year's textbooks, mentioning the names of former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) and his ministers, as reported by The Hindu.

The foreword extended gratitude to ‘Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’ and Education Ministers from the previous BRS government, namely G Jagadish Reddy, Kadiyam Srihari, and Sabitha Indra Reddy, alongside officials who headed the Education Department during the BRS regime.

Included in the foreword were the names of Rajiv Ranjan Acharya, Chiranjeevulu, and Jagadeeshwar, who previously served as Principal Secretary and Commissioners of School Education, respectively. Notably, all these officers have since retired.

Upon detection of the error by vigilant teachers and students, the department swiftly responded by instructing all principals to return the textbooks immediately. Additionally, plans are underway to convene a meeting to determine the subsequent course of action.

Meanwhile, officials are awaiting instructions from School Education Commissioner on the next course of action.

In a prior similar incident, stickers were utilized to rectify such errors. However, whether this method will be employed again or if new textbooks will be printed remains uncertain, reported Deccan Chronicle.

Commenting on the controversy, Sabitha told that TDP government has decided to distribute books with images of former CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in order to cut costs.