Monday, July 16, 2007 New rules on textbook buy, evaluation
THE Department of Education (DepEd) has adopted “stringent measures” in the evaluation and procurement of textbooks for public schools in the country.
This was announced by Secretary Jesli Lapus on the DepEd’s website on the heels of a recent controversy on the purchase of erroneous books distributed to students.
“For one, we have banned the evaluators who did the evaluation of textbooks which are now being criticized for a number of errors,” he said.
Separate bidding
Another measure DepEd adopted is that book content will be bid out separately from printing procurement.
“This is to ensure that we get the best quality textbook manuscripts and then print them at the best possible price as a result of a wider playing field of bidders,” Lapus said.
“The cost of textbooks has been reduced by half and is expected to further go down and the quality of paper used in the new textbooks has significantly improved,” he added.
The DepEd secretary also ordered the creation of an oversight committee that will ensure that perennial problems of textbook evaluation are fully addressed and resolved.
This committee will be composed of independent and highly respected educators and book experts.
Lapus said that “even our critics are welcome to join the committee so that their concerns can be addressed at the proper venue.”
NGO help
Through the Textbook Count, several nongovernment organizations (NGOs) would gather together to promote transparency in the purchase of education materials in DepEd.
NGO volunteers would ensure that the exact number of books, which must be in good condition, would be delivered on time.
DepEd 7 is scheduled to hold the Textbook Count for this school year either late this month or early August.
A DepEd 7 source said that several books still need to be evaluated.
In Cebu Province, over one million textbooks are needed for its more than 500,000 elementary and high school students. (NRC)
