Higher Education: Kerala decision to award K-REAP software contract to Maharashtra sparks row

Thiruvananthapuram: Controversy erupted over implementation of Kerala Resources for Education Administration and Planning (K-REAP), the integrated software systems to bring universities and colleges of Kerala under one roof.

The dispute is in the move to award the contract to the Maharashtra company, which has been rejected by many universities. The Higher Education Department secretary also objected to the move to award the K-Reap software development contract without inviting tenders.

Central Public Sector Undertakings, including ITI companies, had come forward for the contract. Following which the K-REAP technical committee recommended two companies, including ASAP. However, ASAP, working in the technology sector, does not have the technical expertise to develop such a software. Hence, it subcontracted the same to a company in Maharashtra. 

The government has not empaneled ASAP to implement such projects. Therefore, the contention of the objectors is that legally the contract should be awarded only by inviting tenders. The council did not backtrack despite the subcontracting company's eligibility issues.

Complaints against Maharashtra firm
Eight universities in Maharashtra have canceled their contracts with the subcontracted company based in Pune due to widespread technical problems on its part. Last year, Nagpur University also came forward against the company when more than two lakh students suffered due to a lapse in the distribution of mark lists.