The government has declined to approve a major procurement proposal involving more than five crore textbooks for ninth-grade students, citing the need for further scrutiny of suppliers and quality standards.
The decision came during a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Public Procurement Advisory, held on Sunday (Sept 21) at the Secretariat with the finance adviser in the chair.
The proposal, submitted by the Ministry of Education, aimed to print, bind, and distribute 5,54,90,869 copies of free textbooks for the 2026 academic year. The estimated total expenditure for the initiative was Tk 479.82 crore, with each book priced at Tk 86.47.
Despite the urgency to distribute the books by January, the procurement advisory committee withheld approval and recommended a deeper evaluation of the bidding process. Consequently, the Secondary and Higher Education Division withdrew the proposal during the meeting.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, the finance Adviser said that while some book orders have already been placed, concerns remain regarding previous recipients' performance and potential irregularities.
"We’ve instructed a further review to ensure there is no monopoly among suppliers. Questions have arisen about paper quality and whether some entities are securing multiple contracts unfairly. These need to be addressed," he said.
He added that the committee had received reports of malpractice, including non-compliance and a concentration of contracts in the hands of a few entities. Authorities have been directed to identify such firms and assess their performance records.
According to meeting documents, the proposal covered textbook printing and delivery for multiple streams: Bangla and English versions of the national curriculum, Dakhil, Dakhil Vocational, and Technical Trade for both ninth and tenth grades.
The Education Ministry had issued an open e-GP tender for the work, receiving 718 bids from 144 companies in response to 234 procurement packages. Of these, 593 bids were deemed technically and financially responsive. The Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) recommended awarding 223 contracts to the lowest responsive bidders, noting that their quoted prices were aligned with market rates but above the estimated official price. The TEC also advised securing a 10 percent performance guarantee from each contractor.
Despite the TEC's endorsement, the advisory committee opted not to approve the deal immediately, instructing a comprehensive re-evaluation before any decision is finalised.
SMS/
