DESAM demands high-level enquiry
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, January 29 2026: DESAM has urged the Governor to constitute a high-level enquiry committee to investigate the role of the Commissioner of Education (Schools) and concerned officials of the Board of Secondary Education Manipur (BOSEM) in the supply of textbooks printed on extremely poor-quality paper for the academic year 2026 .

Even though BOSEM, under pressure, has already taken back the already distributed textbooks from printing press and stored them in its godown, it remains a temporary and insufficient measure, DESAM said in a memorandum submitted to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla today.

It said that the core issues viz; administrative negligence, lack of quality control and possible collusion remain unaddressed.

The memorandum demanded that a high-level enquiry committee must examine how such poor-quality textbooks were approved, printed and distributed without proper inspection.

If found guilty of negligence, misconduct or collusion, the responsible officials must be awarded exemplary punishment.

Only a high-level, impartial enquiry can restore public confidence in the education system, it said.

DESAM has demanded immediate cancellation of the order sanctioning an advance for the procurement of papers for the printing of textbooks and examination answer scripts.

Granting financial sanctions without first resolving the issue of inferior paper quality and without constituting a high-level enquiry committee reflects a serious lapse in administrative judgement, it said.

The student body has also demanded immediate blacklisting of the firm that supplied sub-standard paper and barring it from participating in any future Government or BOSEM-related contracts.

DESAM has also demanded that the textbooks be printed on paper of the quality equivalent to that of NCERT textbooks or as per NCERT-approved standards.

A copy of the same memorandum has also been submitted to the Chief Secretary.

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