Transparency sought in schoolbook tenders
Transparency sought in schoolbook tenders
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Publishers Association (Ikapi)
called on the government on Wednesday to make its tenders for
schoolbook projects more transparent amid growing criticism of
widespread collusive practices.
Ikapi secretary-general Setia Dharma Madjid told a media
conference that the association would also propose the
establishment of an independent national book council --
comprising experts, publishers and teachers -- to evaluate the
selection of books ordered by various government agencies.
The issues would be discussed by a commission on reforming
national book policies at Ikapi's three-day national congress
which opens on Monday.
The association has come under severe criticism over
allegations that some members of the executive board had been
working in collusion with officials of the Ministry of Education
and Culture in awarding lucrative contracts to publish textbooks
for state schools.
The schoolbook projects received huge World Bank funding.
The Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) estimated this week that
up to 30 percent of the Rp 1.3 trillion fund from the World Bank
for these book projects had been embezzled.
The Ministry of Education and Culture has denied the ICW's
accusations.
Indra Djati Sidhi, the director general of primary and
secondary education, said on Monday that the bidding process was
jointly supervised by the ministry and the World Bank.
Dharma said no one on Ikapi's executive board received
commissions for helping certain publishers win contracts.
The bids were open to all publishers and they were widely
advertised, he said, adding that Ikapi never meddled in the
business of its members.
In the upcoming congress, Ikapi will also propose that the
government deregulate the business of publishing school textbooks
for state primary schools, which is currently a monopoly of Balai
Pustaka, the state-run publishing company.
The 14th Ikapi congress takes place at a time when the
publishing industry has been battered by the economic crisis.
Many of the 470 members of the association have been
struggling to stay afloat, and even big publishers have been
publishing far fewer books than they did last year.
The congress, with the theme "National Book Industry Gearing
For the Globalization Era", will also hear addresses from
Minister of Education and Culture Juwono Sudarsono and economist
Sri Mulyani. (01)