'BSEM�s new guidelines impossible to comply'
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, October 06 2011: The Board of Secondary Education Manipur (BSEM) has set new guidelines for the offset printers which are beyond the complying capacity of the offset printers and will ultimately lead to their ruination, alleged All Manipur Offset Printers Association.

Addressing media persons at a press conference held at Manipur Press club, N Joykumar, President of All Manipur Offset Printers Association said that Rajmohon, Secretary of BSEM had issued a tender notice on September 29 for publishing 70 different text books totaling to around 12 lakhs copies, under the SSA.

The tender notice further invites offset printers who have an annual turnover of not less than Rs 30 lakhs.

It also mentioned that the offset printers should purchase all the requirements for publishing a book.

The offset printers must also deposit a sum of Rs 1lakh to BSEM.

He further went on to say that the recent tender notification issued by the BSEM cannot be followed by any offset printing firm in the state.

It is a huge burden applied on the printing firms.

This was not the case before.

The government had given all the requirements to publish a book including papers, inks and the covers.

Even then, the publishing work was distributed among various printing firms as one firm alone cannot publish the inner body and the cover of the book.

For the current year, apart from all other requirements in publishing a book, paper cost alone will cross Rs 1.5 crores.

If the cost of inks and wages are included it will come to a huge amount which no firms in Manipur will be able to cop with.

The notification is same as issuing an order that no offset printing firm of the state will be allowed to publish the text books of BSEM, he said.

He further said that the government should stick to the rules and regulations as was practiced in previous years.

If the government does not nullify the tender notice issued by the BSEM, the association will resort to various agitations.

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