MOE clarifies steps of e-book procurement process
Jamaica
The Ministry of Education has sought to clarify the steps it has taken since January 2021 to procure an e-book platform for use in this country’s education centre.
The Ministry issued a release on Wednesday after a newspaper report highlighted “assertions” made by MSJ political leader David Abdullah on the issue. According to Abdullah’s claims in a press release on Tuesday, the ministry decided to “implement digital school books after the call by the MSJ to do so.”
He said the MSJ proposed e-books for primary and secondary school students – not for the first time – at a press conference on September 4.
He said, “The MSJ, therefore, led the way on this issue.”
However the Ministry responded by saying:
“While the MSJ’s endorsement of the MOE‘s actions in this regard is duly recognised, the inaccuracy of their timeline, as it publicly presented, requires the MOE to place the facts of the matter on record for edification of the public.”
The Ministry explained further that in January 2021, a Request for Information (RFI) on ebooks was published, to which there were 42 respondents.
“The MOE subsequently held a meeting with booksellers to discuss and clarify certain issues surrounding the provision of ebooks. The MOE took further steps to establish the availability of ebook platform providers from July 2021, and the Cabinet approved the procurement of an E-book platform by the MOE through iGovTT on June 23, 2022. The request for proposals document is currently being formulated, and should be made public in October 2022.”
On Monday, the ministry said new textbooks should not be added nor editions change on schools’ booklists for the next academic year. In addition, it said an e-book platform is also being considered.
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