The Ministry of Education from the Dominican Republic (minerd) defended the contract signed with several publishers for the purchase of books of texts in digital format, and assured that said agreement saved the State more than 667 million pesos.
«The acquisition of textbooks in digital format saved the Dominican State RD$677,853,874.17 in contracting, it is 57% cheaper than the printed book due to the time of use (4 years, instead of 1.3 years of printed books), they are preferred by students and constitute a qualitative leap towards the digitization of education. The process was carried out in strict adherence to laws 66-97 and 340-06, and Ordinance No. 01-2022 of the National Council of Education (CNE)“, assured the Minerd through a note sent to the press.
To acquire the books, which would be used for the secondary level of the 2022-2023 school year, the Ministry of Education specified that all the publishers with bibliographies of textbooks that were evaluated by the General Directorate of Curriculum of the different secondary level areas and approved through ordinance 01-2022issued by the National Council of Education, complying with the principle of participation.
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“To define the pricetag of digital books, compliance with the Item No. 03 resolution PNP-06-2020on general guidelines for the preparation of specifications, technical specifications and terms of reference in public contracting procedures, carrying out a market consultation with the publishers approved to participate in the exclusivity process, obtaining the reference prices for the acquisition of textbooks in digital format for the secondary level for four (4) years, reference MINERD-CCC-PEEX-2022-0003. Said reference prices were the average of the initial quotes presented by the publishers,” said the Minerd.
The entity also detailed that the process was divided into 16 batches in the specific specifications, to guarantee the content, program and graphic sequences in the complete series; that is to say, that each batch comprises a series sequenced by subject: (1st to 3rd and 4th to 6th), by levels, allowing a referential continuity to the texts of the previous grade, «complying with the principle of efficiency«.
11 publishers participated in this contracting process, of which 10 were authorized to open envelope B, reading their economic offers in the presence of the bidders and before a notary public, in accordance with the schedule of activities described in the specifications. specific to the exclusivity exception process and complying with the principles of transparency and publicity, and equality and free competition.
The award criteria for this process were clearly described, ensures the press release and specifies in number 2.1 of the specific specifications, in attention to what is described in the Article 11 resolution PNP-06-2020. The award was made through a price system, awarding from among all those that met the technical requirements, those that offered the lowest price, with the maximum initial quantity being one lot per bidder, awarding more than one, only when there were lots available. , to prevent them from becoming deserts.
During the process, cases were identified in which the economic offers were below the quotes sent by the publishers themselves for the reference price and, in addition, with a validity of only one year of use of the book, instead of four (4). years, which is the duration established in the acquisition process, see circular No. 01 (questions 10.5 and 18.2) attached.
“The budget appropriation for the contracting of this process was RD$2,538,623,158.39, amount resulting from the quotes submitted by the publishers, while the award made was for a value of RD$1,860,769,284.22, for savings to the Dominican state of RD$677,853,874.17, equivalent to a 27%, complying with the principle of economy and flexibility“, explained the entity in charge of ensuring education in the country.
Strictly complying with the award criteria, all qualified bidders, without exception, were awarded at least one lot. The remaining four lots were then awarded. Remaining two deserts for which a second call will be held, said the Ministry.
The usefulness of digital books is four years, different from printed books whose reuse rate is only 1.3 years, due to losses, retentions or deterioration. The average price of a printed book is RD$220.60, which when divided by 1.3 years of use, ends up being RD$169.62 per book per year; while the average price of a digital book is RD$385.21, which I divide by four years of use turns out to be a price of RD$96.30 per book per year, assured the Minerd.
«The digital book is 57% cheaper than the printed book“, they concluded.
Notwithstanding the foregoing details, the Minerd Purchasing and Contracting Committee will respond to the only challenge presented in the process, in compliance with resolution DGCP44-2022-005372, dated July 12, 2022, of the General Directorate of Public Purchasing and Contracting (DGCP).
Publishers require digital books to only be valid for one year
After knowing about the challenge to four of 14 lots of the digital book bidding process, a video circulating on social networks shows several of the owners of the various publishers demanding that the Ministry of Education, that the acquisition of digital books from next school year, only allow their use for one year.
However, the books in digital format of the four companies that are being challenged and were the winners in the MINERD-CCC-PEEX-2022-0003 tender, will be valid for four years, guaranteeing their permanence over time.
“I understand that most publishers are surprised because it was actually said that the books would be valid for one year… we worked on that basis, we all handled ourselves with that criterion, it was to create codes that would be valid exclusively for one year” , maintains one of the businessmen to justify the expiration of these books in that period of time.
Despite the fact that the owners of said publishers are not satisfied with the tender made by the Ministry of Education, they recognize that the General Law of Education establishes that textbooks must remain valid for a period of four years, even so, these companies they bid with an economic proposal calculated so that it would only be used for one year, however, that does not mean that the book loses its validity, but rather that the Minerd would only have a license for one school year.
“We and I say us because all the publishers are in the same, we have not made an offer for four years. Four years of validity is what the Book Law establishes, one thing is the four years of validity and another thing is the validity of the purchase that you make of the book, “said another of the businesswomen who alleges that the publishers did not quote for four years but for one.
For the execution of the contracts corresponding to lots numbers 1, 2, 3 and 7 signed with Cocolo Editorial, EIRL, Editorial Cosme Peña, SRL, CA-Mart Soluciones, SRL and Ediciones Salomé, SRL, it was carried out with these companies because the The greatest requirement of the tender was the validity of the approved textbooks, for a period of four years.
The interest of these publishing houses is that the Ministry of Education holds a tender every year to buy the book despite being the same, or that they pay an annual license for its use.
One of the publishers who complained referred to a meeting with the purchasing committee where it was established that the books would have a code valid for one year, however, when questioned by one of the members of the purchasing committee when that meeting, the supplier did not know how to respond and did not have the support of anyone even though he said that all the suppliers had also participated.
