Watch: Students protest in Odisha over textbook errors; national highway blocked
Protesters in Odisha have blocked national highways and staged a 12-hour bandh to demand the resignation of the state's education minister. The agitation follows allegations of over 1,700 errors in government school textbooks and claims of widespread corruption.
Why it matters
The protest highlights significant concerns regarding the quality of public education and administrative accountability in Indian state governance.
NEW DELHI: Students and members of farmers' and youth organisations staged protests in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday as a 12-hour statewide Odisha bandh was observed over alleged errors in school textbooks and a demand for the resignation of school and mass education minister Nityananda Gond.Members of the Naba Nirman Krushak Sangathan (NNKS) and Nabnirman Yuva Chhatra Sangathan (NYCS) blocked a national highway at Baramunda bus stand and torched tyres during the protest. Visuals from the protest showed demonstrators occupying the road as traffic movement was disrupted.The NNKS has called the bandh over what it described as large-scale errors in textbooks used in government schools. The organisation has been holding a relay hunger strike since August 20 and said the agitation would remain peaceful.
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