The Parliamentary Select Committee on Education has expressed satisfaction with the ongoing printing of textbooks for basic schools by Appointed Time Press (ATP), a subsidiary of the Jospong Group of Companies (JGC).
So far ATP has printed and distributed 600,000 Science textbooks to government basic schools in the country.
ATP is one of five printing houses contracted by the government to print textbooks for basic schools across the country. The company is expected to print 800,000 basic school Science textbooks for distribution across the country.
In July, this year, the company announced that it was 50 per cent through with the project.
This followed an inspection tour of ATP’s facilities by the Education Minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum.
The committee was particularly, excited at state-of-the-art printing machines used by ATP in its operations.
The Chairman of the committee, Mr. Kwabena Amankwa Asiamah, said ATP has done an impressively good job.
The committee members were on an inspection tour of ATP’s head office in Accra on Tuesday, August 2, 2022, to appraise the state of the printing project being undertaken by the company.
Briefing journalists after the inspection tour of the printing house, Mr. Amankwa Asiamah, said school children at the basic level will now get books to read and study.
According to him, the quality of printing and the books was top notch, adding that it meets the required standard, especially for school children at the basic level.
He, however, called on the government to take a critical look at the tax components on the importation of printing materials.
He noted that the prices of textbooks imported from India and China were cheaper.
He attributed this to tax rebates given by the governments of these two countries to the printing firms in their respective countries.
The Managing Director of ATP, Ms. Jacqueline Afful, disclosed her outfit had so far printed and distributed 600,000 basic Science textbooks across the nation.
She assured that the remaining 200,000 textbooks will be ready on schedule.
She rehashed her company’s commitment to print the remaining textbooks by the end of August 2022, for onward distribution to basic schools.
She disclosed that the company paid particular attention to the quality of the books owing to the fact that children were going to use them.