M A I N   N E W S

A Rs 46-cr schoolbook scam interrupted in Punjab
Sanjeev Singh Bariana/TNS

big money Sellers would have earned a whopping Rs 46 crore had the procurements by the Punjab Education Department not been halted midway after irregularities surfaced

Chandigarh, May 30
To get an assessment of the magnitude of the scandal in the Punjab Education Department procurements — had they not been halted midway — a rough calculation done by The Tribune of the total money that would have been paid to the firms selected through questionable procedures should give some idea: approximately Rs 46 crore.

The procurement or purchase recommendations were for school library books, science kits for schools, map booklets for students, and practical notebooks. Punjab Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka is facing charges of irregularities in the procurement of the same.

Among users of the learning materials would have been nearly 37 lakh students in 19,550 government schools. Brakes were applied on the procurements after questions were raised over the content of the books and quality and prices of other materials.

Pricing of the 754 science kits being procured from five Ambala-based firms at Rs 99,203 each came into question after some schools expressed an inability to afford the kits at that price, and some competitive suppliers claimed they could supply the same at Rs 36,000 (The Tribune is in possession of such complaints). The financial implication of this purchase would have been Rs 7.5 crore.

For books for primary and upper primary school libraries, which contained vulgar and inflammatory literature, the department had sanctioned Rs 9.28 crore. Separate sets of around 55 books each were to be supplied to primary and upper primary schools.

However, sets worth only Rs 22 lakh had been supplied in schools of Mohali, Ropar and Hoshiarpur districts when the procurement was halted following hue and cry over the content of the books.

For the map booklets, the department had asked all schools to ensure students buy those of particular publishers. As these have to be used by all students from Class VI to Class X — in which there are around 16 lakh students — the children would have spent approximately 8.65 crore, assuming each bought one booklet. Separate prices have been considered for each class in the calculation, with prices varying between Rs 35 and Rs 72.

The purchase of similarly recommended practical notebooks would have cost students the most - approximately Rs 21 crore. Taking into account the number of students in various classes and streams and average prices, the breakup would be as follows: notebooks for science in middle classes - Rs 2.52 crore; physical education in middle school - Rs 2.43 crore; science in high school - Rs 2.52 crore; physical education in high school Rs 3.5 crore; mathematics in middle and senior schools - Rs 6.72 crore; and science in Plus Two Rs 3.35 crore. The various expenditures to be incurred by the department and students on these four different kinds of procurements and purchases would have amounted to approximately Rs 46 crore.