No compromise on quality of textbooks

Bangladesh has the distinction of distributing 300 million school textbooks among its students at the start of the new academic year. It is a monumental task accomplished admirably against all odds and at times conspiracies by certain quarters. But things are yet to be streamlined for printing such a vast number of books. Now allegations have it that a section of officials at the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB), which oversees the print of textbooks, in collusion with some known quarters of printers, is giving the entire process of printing, binding and distribution a bad name. Faulty tendering process and irregularities in work orders are to blame. Taking advantage of these, favours are distributed to some printers who in exchange for bribe money monopolise the printing job but at the cost of quality. The Bangladesh Mudran Shilpa Samity (BMSS) brought these issues to the notice of the prime minister in a petition. They are also against the international tendering system, contending that the local printers are capable of delivering the goods.
Sure enough, a number of proposals advanced by the BMSS merit consideration. For example, the proposal for formation of a quality control committee comprising officials and experts from the education ministry, board and other entities can certainly keep a tab on the progress in printing books as well as the maintenance of quality or not. Similarly, the ceiling of textbooks for a single company should be fixed in order to ensure that none of the printers is overworked and forced to do the job perfunctorily. However, the authorities had at times bad experiences with local tendering. A cynical attempt was once made to hold the government hostage. The government then introduced international tendering as a safety measure.
No one denies that the country's printing industry is any worse compared to that of the neighbouring country where a portion of the total textbooks are printed. But the main issue is timely printing and distribution of the textbooks.  Meanwhile, BMSS's allegation that the foreign printers directly distribute books 'at the thana level' in the adjoining border areas is a serious one. This and many other such complaints warrant a thorough probe into them. The bottom line ought to be to arrive at the truth, full truth, so that irregularities at any stage can be done away with.
The education minister has reportedly received a copy of the letter the BMSS addressed to the prime minister and acted on it. However, the emphasis seems to be more on the paper used for printing textbooks. This alone should not be the case. Printing quality matters, so does the arrangement and illustrations that accompany the subjects. On all such counts the textbooks, especially for the primary classes, cut a sorry figure. The books at this level have to be most attractive in both looks and contents. No one would claim that books for beginners can claim to have earned their hearts. But this is essential for learners at their prime. If the money spent on textbooks is prudently used, maintaining quality of textbooks is not likely to be a daunting task.