Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) Chief Executive Officer Charles Ong’ondo has warned schools and parents against buying text books from bookshop s that have not been approved by the agency.
While speaking at Eldoret National Polytechnic in Uasin Gishu County recently during a meeting with more than 800 teachers drawn from primary and secondary schools in the country, the KICD CEO said the government will not allow textbooks not approved by the institute to be used in any of the public and private primary schools.
“I warn our tutors and parents alike not to buy any text book from bookshops that have not been approved by KICD as doing so will compromise the quality of teaching and learning in our schools,” he said.
The CEO implored parents and teachers to insist on approved textbooks when they are approached by booksellers to avoid falling prey to unscrupulous publishers.
“It is our duty as stakeholders in the education sector to uphold standards in our efforts to ensure implementation of the curriculum under the competency-based education,” said Ong’ondo, revealing that the government is alive to the fact that some traders want to take advantage of the smooth distribution of the vetted textbooks to schools by also releasing for sale into the market books that have not gone through the requisite quality checks by the concerned authority.
The CEO, who was accompanied by Jane Mukuhe, Deputy Director in charge of education resource at the institute, and Eldoret National Polytechnic Chief Principal Charles Koech, further revealed that the government has set in motion plans for the distribution of more than 9.6 million textbooks direct to public primary schools across the country from September to November.
According to Ong’ondo, Kenya will be the first country in East Africa to come up with a policy in the education sector where the ratio of grade one to nine textbooks will be 1:1.
“The government is determined to attain the 1:1 learner to textbook ratio with a view to ensure effective learning and teaching in our schools in the country,” he said.
Ong’ondo assured sector stakeholders that the textbooks which are earmarked for distribution to more than 32,000 public schools have already been approved by KICD.
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By Brian Ndigo
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