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Madhya Pradesh's textbook corporation has scrapped its tenders for paper and printing, leaving books for more than 80 lakh students up to Class 12 for the 2027 session without a supplier less than four months before they are due.
The tenders were cancelled at a board meeting on November 6 that ran for about seven hours, until nearly 1 am, Dainik Bhaskar reported. Printing bids had come in about 70 per cent above the fixed price. School Education Secretary Sanjay Goyal pulled up managing director Rohit Singh after the tender file was twice brought for approval without his signature, telling him to stop fooling the board, the paper reported.
Paper was the other problem. Four mills quoted rates about 17 per cent higher than last year, Free Press Journal reported, while the corporation's technical committee had expected an increase of 8 to 12 per cent. The corporation says a fresh tender could guard against a possible cartel among suppliers.
Officials told the board that a fresh tender carries its own risk. Other states are also buying paper, which could push prices higher, and any delay would hit printing. Paper already in stock can keep presses running for a month to a month and a half, enough for about a quarter of the books.
The tender process was meant to begin in June, and books are to be distributed by March 1, 2027, The Sootr reported. A fresh round could take one to two months more.
Government school children receive these books free. Private schools buy the same titles from the corporation's print run, so a late start would leave both waiting.
Hashtags: #Education #MadhyaPradesh #SchoolBooks #TextbookCorporation #SchoolBooks2027 #PaperTender #PrintingTender #MadhyaPradeshSchools #MPTextbookCorporationTender #Bhopal
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