Printers place memo to NCTB seeking quality printing of textbooks for 2015

FE Report | Published: July 10, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

The country's printers placed a letter of memorandum to National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) Wednesday demanding quality printing of textbooks for 2015.
They said an unscrupulous syndicate of printers gets more work orders than those who can make less contact with the government officials and deliver substandard books, for which the printers in general were held responsible.
The Bangladesh Mudran Shilpa Samity (BMSS), representing around 7,000 printers of the country, placed a memorandum of four-point charter of demand to the NCTB. A delegation led by BMSS President Shahid Serniabat and Secretary AFM Shah Alam submitted the memorandum to the NCTB chairman at his office in the city.
The demands include ensuring paper and binding quality as per specifications stated in the tender, quality of printing, urging the authority not to accept the textbooks if they are not printed as per specified quality.
The BMSS also demanded formation of a committee consisting of members of the officials from NCTB, the ministry of education (MoE), representatives from BMSS, Bangladesh Security Printing Corporation (Bangladesh) Ltd and Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR).
The BMSS also sought Prime Minister's intervention to ensure supply of quality textbooks to primary and secondary school students.
Last month, the association sent four letters to the PM, the MoE and NCTB, saying that the pro-people decision of the Prime Minister to distribute free textbooks to the students from class one to ten was not being implemented for what it said "unethical practices" of a few officials involved in the programme and a section of profit-taking book suppliers.
They alleged that a section of officials at the NCTB give work orders to the printers who keep good relations with them violating all the rules and procedures.
These officials even do not bother about ensuring supply of quality books by those printers as per the tender, which results in printing of low quality textbooks.
The association alleged that the officials responsible for ensuring quality take 'illegal financial benefit' openly and certify books with low quality printing, binding and paper of those suppliers.
Without naming anyone, the association also alleged that the printing orders of textbooks went to a coterie of four to five companies that take the advantage of faulty tendering process and irregularities in work distribution.
Besides, it said, the international tendering system creates opportunity for the Indian printers to get work orders and directly distribute books at the thana level after printing books in different Indian states and entering those through Benapole port.
In his note, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid instructed the secretary concerned to take necessary steps to ensure quality of paper after discussing with the NCTB.
"But according to information we received an 'unscrupulous syndicate' is preparing for the work with substandard paper, printing and binding defying the minister's instruction," AFM Shah Alam told the FE.