BabuK
JF-Expert Member
- Jul 30, 2008
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The Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Vocational Training has ordered the Tanzania Education Institute (TEI) to suspend three officials who allegedly initiated poor publication of over 2 million copies of primary school textbooks worth more than Sh2bn.
Addressing the media in Dar es Salaam yesterday, the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Maimuna Tarish told reporters that the offense had rendered all Standard I&II pupils to run without proper textbooks this year as they were meant to serve schools across the nation in the first term of this year.
She mentioned the suspended overseers of the scheme to publish substandard materials as Peter Bandio, Acting Director for Education Material Department, Pili Magongo, TEI Advocate and Jackson Mwaingonela, Head of Procurement Department.
The trio had overseen publication of the textbooks as stipulated in the contract from a tender won by Yukos Enterprises Ltd last year.
According to her, Yukos that won a tender of more than Sh2bn to publish 2,807,600 books under ‘Najifunza kusoma kitabu cha kwanza” and “Najifunza kusoma kitabu cha pili” Swahili-language titles, respectively for Std I and II, failed to meet the quality standards.
“Quite a lot of mistakes that could not be accommodated in sensible teaching have been noted,” she said.
They include shortage of pages, poor layout (the first page is found at the middle of the book), faintness of the text, repetition of pages, turning pages upside down and gluing several pages into one.
When the ministry noted the discrepancies, it ordered TET to terminate the contract with Yukos and immediately stop the exercise, but it declined to obey.
But she explained that the government would not incur any loss from the revoked contract, since Yukos had been paid only 20 per cent of the deal amount under the bank guarantee that ensures return of the money in the given contract annulment.
The ministry has also ordered the publisher to immediately recall all the books from the national depot by the end of the month for burning.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY
Addressing the media in Dar es Salaam yesterday, the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Maimuna Tarish told reporters that the offense had rendered all Standard I&II pupils to run without proper textbooks this year as they were meant to serve schools across the nation in the first term of this year.
She mentioned the suspended overseers of the scheme to publish substandard materials as Peter Bandio, Acting Director for Education Material Department, Pili Magongo, TEI Advocate and Jackson Mwaingonela, Head of Procurement Department.
The trio had overseen publication of the textbooks as stipulated in the contract from a tender won by Yukos Enterprises Ltd last year.
According to her, Yukos that won a tender of more than Sh2bn to publish 2,807,600 books under ‘Najifunza kusoma kitabu cha kwanza” and “Najifunza kusoma kitabu cha pili” Swahili-language titles, respectively for Std I and II, failed to meet the quality standards.
“Quite a lot of mistakes that could not be accommodated in sensible teaching have been noted,” she said.
They include shortage of pages, poor layout (the first page is found at the middle of the book), faintness of the text, repetition of pages, turning pages upside down and gluing several pages into one.
When the ministry noted the discrepancies, it ordered TET to terminate the contract with Yukos and immediately stop the exercise, but it declined to obey.
But she explained that the government would not incur any loss from the revoked contract, since Yukos had been paid only 20 per cent of the deal amount under the bank guarantee that ensures return of the money in the given contract annulment.
The ministry has also ordered the publisher to immediately recall all the books from the national depot by the end of the month for burning.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY
