Kerala - Kochi   

Printing of textbooks nearly complete: KPBS

KOCHI: Kerala Books and Publication Society (KBPS) Managing Director M. Beena has said that printing of textbooks for the current academic year is 95 per cent complete.

She said here on Monday that steps had been taken for the first phase distribution of books. People with vested interests were behind reports in a section of the media that the textbook distribution was a failure since it was handed over to the KBPS, she said.

The KBPS had always acted as per the instructions of the State government. A high-level monitoring committee was functioning at the KBPS to supervise and review the daily distribution of textbooks, Ms. Beena said.

The KBPS had taken over the distribution of textbooks from a courier agency meant to distribute books in Kollam, Idukki, Kottayam, and Pathanamthitta districts after the monitoring committee found its operation dissatisfactory.

She said the rules made it mandatory to give the print order for textbooks needed for a new academic year by May 31 of the previous academic year. However, the KBPS received the print order only on this May 4. Ms. Beena said that allegations that the KBPS had entrusted the textbook distribution with private courier agencies illegally were baseless. Out of nine firms that had submitted quotations, the rates quoted by the Department of Posts (DoP) , which was entrusted with the textbook distribution in the previous year, was 84 per cent more than the least quoted rates. Two private courier companies were entrusted with the distribution since the rates they quoted were far less. This was done with the permission of the State government.

She said that textbooks could not be sorted and stored at district centres since the Textbook Department had failed to hand over enough depots to the KBPS on time.

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