An inadvertent error in the Class II Marathi textbook, distributed to over 10,000 students where an incomplete National Anthem was published, has now forced the education department officials in Goa to republish the page.
Speaking to The Pioneer on Friday, State Council of Educational Research and Training Director Nagaraj Honnekeri said that the error was a result of ‘technical’ error, as a result of which the last two lines of the national anthem ‘Jaya he, jaya he... Jaya jaya jaya jaya he’ were not published in the textbook.
“There is an error. We are now re-publishing over 13,000 pages with the complete version of the national anthem. The pages will now be sent to all the schools to be distributed to students along with a corrigendum,” Honnekeri said.
When students of Class II were given the ‘Gomant Bharti’ Marathi course books earlier this week, the parents of the students were in a rude shock, after the last two lines of the National Anthem were not published in the book.
Initially, the State Education Department said that the error could have cropped up in some books, but an enquiry revealed that the error had cropped up in every book issued to students.
Honnerkeri said there was no error on the part of the SCERT, but added that the error had crept up when the books were printed by the company, which had won the tender for publishing the book.
“Actually in our original CD there are no mistakes. In the computer some software problem or something would have happened and the two lines were not printed. It’s a technical mistake,” the official said.
Honnekeri said that as per the tender conditions, if there is an error on the part of printer, they have to make the required corrections at their own cost. So the expense for the corrections will not be borne by the State Government or the Education Department,” he said.
After reports of the incomplete National Anthem were public, the Congress had alleged that the BJP-led coalition Government in the State had insulted the National Anthem and had demanded an apology from the State Government.