The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Government printing units wait endlessly for textbook orders Better quality textbooks from next academic year

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Wednesday, Nov 04, 2009
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Government printing units wait endlessly for textbook orders Better quality textbooks from next academic year

Bageshree S.

All the three units not given orders in the last five months

Bangalore: The State Government has invited tenders from private publishers to print school textbooks for the academic year 2010-11 worth about Rs. 65 crore. Even as this process is on, printing units set up by the Government to exclusively print textbooks have been idle for months.

Workers employed in government printing units (in Mysore, Tumkur and Gulbarga) argue that this “bias” towards private publishers is not only depriving about 600 of them of their livelihood, but also resulting in loss of crores of rupees to the State exchequer. This, they allege, happens every year because of the pressure from private publishers’ lobby.

“For the last five months, all the three government printing units have not been given any work. If the government units had started printing in April, we could have by now printed about three crore books,” Satyabodha Kagalkar, Secretary of the Government Press Contract Workers’ Union, told The Hindu. “The Government is deliberately losing time calling for tenders instead of starting work in its own printing units,” he said.

Interestingly, a high-level meeting convened by the Finance Secretary in February 2004, had resolved that all school textbooks should henceforth be printed at government units taking into account the financial viability. It was estimated that the State would save about Rs. 10 crore if the work that year was done by the government-owned units.

The resolution clearly stated that printing of free school textbooks, from 2005-06, should be done in government units and work should not be given on sub-contract, piece work or on any other basis to private printers. But this decision has never been implemented, with only a fraction of the printing work being given to government press.

B.S. Yeddyurappa, who was the Leader of the Opposition in 2005, had objected to large orders being given to private publishers even as the Government had invested crores of rupees in setting up printing units and machinery in its own press.

“The Government is saying that the quality of books printed in government printing units is not good, which is only an excuse. The Government should invest to improve printing facility in these units rather than use it as an excuse to give away work to private printers,” said Mr. Kagalakar.

R.G. Nadadur, Secretary, Primary and Secondary Education, said that printing orders would be given to government press also, but it would be given “simultaneously” to private and government units.

BANGALORE: R.G. Nadadur, Secretary, Primary and Secondary Education, said that the department was taking special measures this time to ensure good quality textbooks.

The tender notification issued to print books for 2010-11 specifically states that the book should use Maplitho paper of 60 GSM (a measure for weight and type of paper) or more for inside pages and a cover of 220 GSM art paper. It has said that illustrations should be clear and well-defined, he said.

This rider comes in the light of complaints about poor quality textbooks.

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