The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) has pledged fairness in selection of publishers for the Competency Based Curriculum course materials.
Chief Executive Officer Prof Charles Ong’ondo said the evaluation process will be above board and all players will have an equal chance of competing for the business opportunities.
Prof Ong’ondo was speaking during the official opening of a forum to train publishers on the requirements for Grade Six ahead of submission of curriculum support materials for evaluation.
The forum, which was held at the Bible Translation and Literacy Centre in Kiambu County, attracted more than 150 publishers.
It was meant to enhance the quality of the course materials submitted for evaluation.
The course materials submitted for approval will be evaluated against the curriculum designs to ensure the publishers align the content in the books with what teachers are expected to teach.
“We want the publishers to correctly interpret the curriculum designs so that they develop course materials that speak to the designs. When an error is detected in a book, it is KICD that takes the blame,” Prof Ong’ondo said.
The content of the training includes lessons on the need for the publishers to conform to the curriculum when developing the course materials, learning activities to be covered in the materials, skills and concepts development and promoting value based education.
The publishers also need to know how to incorporate pertinent and contemporary issues and community service learning as provided for in the Basic Education Curriculum Framework, how to handle digital materials, placement of age appropriate illustrations and layout issues and guaranteeing grammar and editorial excellence.
The CEO also asked the publishers to stick to deadlines set for submitting the course materials for approval to ensure they are evaluated in May when teachers will be on holiday so that the books can be ready for use when learners join Grade Six.
“This is Covid-19 period and we will not have any other time to evaluate due to revised school calendar. The books will not be eligible for purchase by the government if they are not ready on time,” Prof Ong’ondo said.
Kenya Publishers Association Chairman Lawrence Njagi said they were ready to put in extra time to deliver the CBC course books on time and appealed to the director to guarantee a free, fair and verifiable evaluation process.
“A level playing field guarantees will see both losers and winners congratulate each other,” Njagi said.
He observed that the Kenyan publishing industry leads regionally and the publishers will not compromise on quality.
“As the market leaders in the region, we are not ready to relinquish that position,” he said.
Prof Ong’ondo said the Institute will undertake due diligence that include checking the publishers’ tax compliance status and any form of conflict of interest before allowing one to bid for the development of course materials.
The CBC is being implemented in phases from PP1, PP2 and Grade One to Four with the current pioneers expected to join Grade Five in July due to the changes in the school calendar brought about by the pandemic.
