KARACHI, Feb 23: The Sindh Textbook Board is likely to hire a foreign company to ensure the textbooks are printed in time with good quality paper and printing as all eleven local bidders have failed to qualify for the tender specification.

Well-placed sources confided to Dawn on Friday, that the STB was considering hiring a foreign firm, which is not a usual practice. Although the final decision is yet to be taken, the involvement of a foreign firm would mean re-inviting the tender after cancelling the previous one in which eleven local companies participated.

The tenders were invited for 68 grams paper and eleven samples received. All of them were sent to two different public sector laboratories. One of them did not pass the samples as being according to specification. The other laboratory certified seven of the eleven samples as being according to the specification given by the STB.

The samples of the lowest two bidders were rejected and the STB had no option except award the Rs340 million contract to the third lowest bidder for paper procurement.

The sources said that another option was to cancel the tender and float a gallop tender to seek international bidders. They said that the practice was adopted some three years ago and one of the international bidders from Indonesia was rejected on ‘technical reasons’. Foreign bidders could be invited as the approval was already there from the STB Board of Governors of the STB. They said the same firm was contacted which offered 60 grams paper and it also offered to print textbooks in 45 days against the 90 days sought by local printers and publishers.

The sources said there was no criteria for awarding tender of printing textbooks, and sometimes favouritism and nepotism prevailed. However, the quality was pathetic and fines ranging between Rs500 to Rs176,000 were levied on printers/publishers for poor printing, non-delivery of books on time, and errors in text.

They pointed out that paper procurement and printing of textbooks costs around Rs700 million and the process has to be completed by July end as the books should be distributed before the academic session begins on August 15.

They said the STB could save Rs40 million if the books were printed in Indonesia, but pressure from certain quarters was increasing to award the tender to local bidders. A STB Finance Committee decision was to take a decision this week but the meeting was postponed and is likely to be held next week.