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Wednesday, June 13, 2001
 Bidding on the future Problems mar effort to update, upgrade computers and connections in local schools By Leah Bower There are 20 students to each computer at the primary school at Vodickova 22. Fifteen of the computers that students clunk away at have outdated 486 processors, which were high tech a decade ago. The remaining 20 computers sport 90 to 400 megahertz-speed Pentium processors, but even that lags well behind today's PCs, which boast speeds up to 1,700 megahertz. The school has dial-up Internet connections, painfully slow ones. Radek Sach, a computer teacher at the Prague 1 school, moderates his complaints. "Our school is one of the leading schools in terms of computer equipment," he said. "It is far worse elsewhere in the country." Sach and others also know help is on the way. Education Minister Eduard Zeman has promised to bring up-to-date computers to schools by the end of next year. The pledge is part of an education technology reform program, approved last April, that will cost an estimated 7.4 billion Kc ($185 million) by the end of 2005. But actually getting the new computers is proving easier said than done. A recent call for bids to provide primary, grammar and secondary schools with Internet connections and computers -- a healthy piece of business worth 4.43 billion Kc ($107 million) -- at first seemed to be running smoothly. As many as 50 international companies requested information on the tender, according to media reports. A required 80 million Kc security deposit whittled it down to six serious bids that were submitted by the May 30 deadline. Officials won't name the bidders, but The Prague Post confirmed that the players include a consortium of computer company Compaq, Cesky Telecom and AutoCont Online; a partnership led by telecom company GTS; a group including Dell Computer Corp., telecom Contactel and software-maker Infinity; and a consortium involving PVT, a local information technology firm. But, in a replay of the controversy surrounding the country's tender for jet fighters, all the bidders but one have withdrawn or been disqualified. Zeman told Czech papers that five of the six bids were tossed out because they failed to file the appropriate paperwork or submit bids in Czech. The Compaq, Cesky Telecom and AutoCont Online group is thought to be the only survivor. Officials with GTS, who declined to identify their partners, said they hadn't been told their offer was rejected, but they decided to back out, concerned about transparency. "The winner was more or less known already," GTS spokesman David Duron said. "GTS would have expected more transparent and clearly defined evaluation methods of tender documents submitted by all participants." Officials with the Dell computer company also say they haven't received word that their offer was rejected, though media reports say otherwise. "There was something on TV, but we don't take that as an official reply," said marketing and sales director Milan Vasicek. "We gave an offer and officially it was accepted." PVT also had not received official notification of being disqualified. According to media reports, Zeman has said at least two of the companies have already filed complaints over the bidding. Zeman was unavailable for comment. In local newspapers, he dismissed talk of cloudy deals and weighted outcomes. "In the case of this tender, there was no such influence," he told Czech business daily Hospodarske noviny. He added that it was odd that only one company could file its paperwork accurately. "Only one consortium did this right. And now everything depends on whether their offer will match our requirements." Right-wing politicians are using the dispute to discredit Zeman, calling for him to cancel the tender and resign. On June 12, the country's anti-trust office ordered the education ministry to suspend the tender for 60 days, over concerns that it was unfair. In the fighter jets tender, U.S. aerospace giants backed out due to requirements that bids be in Czech, with currency in crowns. Two other potential bidders pulled out, concerned about transparency, leaving only an Anglo-Swedish partnership led by BAE systems, up for the massive contract. But while the ministry and companies bicker, Czech children continue to fall behind their Western counterparts in technological savvy. The school at Vodickova 22 has managed to fund its computer labs by renting out unusued parts of its building, located in a prime spot in downtown Prague, but it is atypical. It's all contributing to a digital divide between students from different economic strata, said Daniel Munich, a labor economist with Charles University's Center for Economic Research. With inadequate school computer facilities, students have to rely on family resources, he said. That leaves children from lower-income families with few options. But it's a complex problem, and simply handing over new computers won't necessarily solve it, he said. "[Schools] do not pay enough for good experts who are also good teachers," Munich said. "They could install the PCs, but nobody knows how to plug it in." Leah Bower's e-mail address is lbower@praguepost.cz Stall tactics Bathroom ads usher in era of unconventional marketing Hotels enjoy jump in occupancy Industry buoyed by IMF and end of Balkans conflict Investors snub bonds Rising deficit cited as possible reason offering fails to sell Kolin makes BMW's short list Town assembles land to help lure major automaking plant Movers & Shakers Peace Corps vets join copy team Spaces & Places Andel blooms E-world Home movies made easy Kal's Korner The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited. Home |