By Dennis Bett
Nandi County recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with book publisher Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB) to supply approved textbooks to all Early Childhood Development centres and polytechnics in the county.
The books deal will see the publisher supply Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) approved instructional materials to a total 800 pre-school centres and 13 youth polytechnics in Nandi.
Speaking at his office in Kapsabet after the partnership agreement, Governor Stephen Sang said the county opted for the direct tender with the publisher to curb bottlenecks encountered during procurement that often results in delays in provision of services to counties by merchants.
Governor Sang said he was confident the initiative will allow children in pre-school centres and learners in vocational training centers to enjoy the benefit of getting access to quality learning materials.
KLB Managing Director Victor Lomaria said the partnership is a boon to the book industry because it will enable the publisher supply quality and cost effective books.
“Pirates have for long bedeviled the book industry in the country and led to Government losing revenue in unpaid taxes while authors are denied royalties,” said Lomaria.
The MD said the publisher will cascade the National Government book reform policy to the county which he said involves ensuring a one-to-one learner book ratio to curb the hitherto practice where several learners have been sharing a single text book.
