Education ministry launches probe into textbook price scandal

Source: Ukraine’s ministry of education

Ukraine’s education ministry officials are left blushing after media reports made them revoke the state contracts that could see the ministry buy textbooks for schools at inflated prices. The probe focuses on the Institute of Modernization of Education Content, which avoided regular tender procedures to award lavish books contracts to  Kharkiv’s Atlant publishing house.

According to the ministry, the institute is now under scrutiny following a public outcry over the pricing scandal.

“We have received information that the Institute of Modernization of Education Content, which is responsible for organizing expert evaluations and purchasing textbooks, signed an agreement to purchase textbooks at an inflated price. We strictly adhere to anti-corruption principles, and we are grateful to the media representatives for drawing attention to possible violations. We will definitely report on the results of the service investigation,” the ministry said in a statement on social media.

Recent revelations by NGL.Media found that the Institute signed 83 contracts with Atlant for nearly 163 million hryvnias without competitive bidding. Comparisons with other printing houses prices  suggest that Atlant’s pricing was double the market rate. -Atlant charged 455 hryvnias for prining a copy of the textbook that would normally cost  109 hryvnias at most.