The government has decided to print 53,254,760 textbooks to distribute to primary school students in grades one to five for the 2025 academic year.
Following a proposal from the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, the committee has approved the purchase proposal for printing, binding, and supply of textbooks for 27 lots for grades one, two, and three.
A total of 46 bids were submitted for 28 lots for printing, binding, and supply of textbooks. Of these, 43 bids were responsive.
For 27 lots of the 28, the lowest responsive bidder was selected for the printing, binding, and supply of 12,893,360 books at a cost of Tk65.15 crore.
The purchase proposal was presented for approval, and the committee has granted its approval.
The decision was made at a meeting chaired by the Economic Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed at the Cabinet Division's conference room on Thursday (November 21).
According to the meeting, the government will collect 53,254,760 textbooks for grades one to five to distribute to primary school students in the 2025 academic year.
The printing (including paper), binding, and supply of these textbooks will cost Tk276.63 crore.
Of this, the printing, binding, and supply for 12,893,360 textbooks for grades one, two, and three will cost Tk65.15 crore.
These textbooks will be distributed in 27 lots.
The printing, binding, and supply of 40,361,400 textbooks for grades four and five will cost Tk211.48 crore.
These textbooks will be available in 95 lots across 20 packages.
The committee has approved the proposal for the printing, binding, and supply of these textbooks.
Sources indicate that the cost for printing, binding, and supply of each textbook, including paper, is estimated to be Tk50.52. The committee has recommended the lowest bidder from 27 of the 28 lots.
The recommended price is 18.65% higher than the estimated price.
No suitable bidder was found for one lot.
In the meeting, the committee also approved the proposal for printing, binding, and supply of textbooks for grades four and five in 20 packages of 95 lots for the 2025 academic year, following a proposal from the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education.
For timely and free distribution of the required textbooks to all students in the 2025 academic year, internal e-GP tenders were called for 98 lots of textbooks for grades four and five.
A total of 196 bids were received, of which 179 were responsive.
The purchase proposal for printing, binding, and supply of 40,361,400 books at a cost of Tk211.48 crore was presented, and the committee has approved it.
The cost for printing, binding, and supplying each textbook, including paper, is estimated to be Tk52.39.