Maharashtra CBSE Textbooks Under Fire After Factual and Typographical Errors Surface

Maharashtra's new CBSE textbooks face criticism over factual and typographical errors. Balbharti promises corrections in future editions.
on Jul 03, 2026

The new set of CBSE textbooks for Maharashtra has been criticized following the revelation of several factual and typographical errors in the Class 3 and Class 4 textbooks.
Following complaints from parents and students, the new set of textbooks introduced in Maharashtra has been put under the scanner owing to factual and typographical errors that cropped up soon after the start of the academic year.
One of the more glaring errors is the wrong death date mentioned for the great Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, incorrect measurement units in the math lessons, and an error regarding the description of the first girls' school opened by Jyotiba and Savitribai Phule in Maharashtra as the first such girls' school in India.
These errors have led to further questions regarding the quality control checks on the textbooks published by Balbharti.

ERRORS DISCOVERED IN THE NEW TEXTBOOKS

As a result of the implementation of NEP 2020, Maharashtra has started introducing textbooks from the CBSE curriculum in a gradual manner. The transition will continue until 2029. The current academic year has seen the introduction of new textbooks by Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research (Balbharti) for Classes 2, 3, 4, and 6.
However, there have been a number of mistakes discovered in the new textbooks which have come out.
After raising the issues pointed out by mathematician Dinanath Gore in the Marathi newspaper Sakal, Balbharti director Anuradha Oak confirmed that mistakes have crept in some textbooks.

FACTUAL AND TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS

Perhaps the most glaring factual error comes from the Class 4 mathematics book available in both languages, i.e., English and Marathi. It has wrongly mentioned that Srinivasa Ramanujan passed away on 27th April, 1920 but the right date is 26th April, 1920.
In the Marathi medium mathematics textbook, there is a typographical mistake on Page No. 55. The question refers to more than 1000 grams instead of the right unit, that is, more than 1000 kilograms. Similarly, mathematical errors have been found on Page No. 77 in the English-medium edition.
The mistakes have been recognized by Balbharti and they said that the mistakes will be rectified in the upcoming edition of the books. Until the new edition is printed, the bureau will update the information of the students and teachers through videos provided by the QR code embedded in the book.

HISTORICAL MISTAKE BRINGS INFLUENCE ON THE TEXTBOOK

A second mistake has come up in the Class 3 textbook in which the school set up by social activists Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule in Pune was stated to be the first girls' school in Maharashtra.
Earlier, it has been mentioned by Balbharti that the statement will be corrected stating that the school in question was not just the first girls' school in Maharashtra but it was also the first girls' school in India established by Indians for girls.
The mistake brought in criticism because of the historical importance of the school and the influence of the Phules in educating Indian women.

CONCERNING EDITORIAL PROCESS

These kinds of mistakes bring about concern over the editorial and proof reading process of the newly published CBSE based textbooks in Maharashtra. Although Balbharti has stated that the mistakes will be rectified in the future editions and interim updates shared through QR code-linked videos, the episode highlights the need for stronger fact-checking and quality control to ensure students receive accurate learning material.