Publishers Clarify Reasons for Postponement of CBC Textbook Release by Up to Four Weeks Following School Resumption

The Kenya Publishers Association has reassured parents that textbooks for Grades 5 to 8 will be available by the end of January, after a public outcry. Parents at private schools are eagerly awaiting the new books, which will replace the outdated ones, leading to additional costs.

During a press briefing on Tuesday, January 7, the Chairperson of the Publishers Association emphasized that both teachers and students can continue using the old textbooks until the new ones are available.

Last Friday, the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) announced that students in Grades 5 to 8 will face further delays in receiving the new textbooks, even though schools reopened on Monday. “Books are being corrected at the KICD and will be in the market by the end of January, with some available in February,” said Kamua.

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He also advised that parents and learners should continue using the books already provided.

The delay in book availability follows suggestions from Kenyans to improve the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC). In 2023, the government of President William Ruto began reviewing subjects under CBC, reducing the number of learning areas in lower primary from nine to seven. In upper primary, the number of learning areas was reduced from ten to eight, and in junior secondary, subjects were cut from fourteen to nine.

Textbooks have become a financial burden for parents under the new system, with each update requiring additional purchases. When CBC was introduced in 2019, textbooks for Grade 4 were supplied across thirteen learning areas. Grade 5 books followed in 2020, Grade 6 in 2021, Grade 7 in 2023, and Grade 8 materials in 2024.

The government is now reviewing these books in a process called rationalisation, intended to align them with the revised learning areas.

Publishers defended the rationalisation process, stating that it was based on feedback from Kenyans across all 47 counties, which informed the development of the new, revised textbooks.

KICD announced that textbooks covering subjects like Agriculture, Creative Arts and Sports, Integrated Science, Social Studies, and Pre-Technical Studies are expected to be available between now and April.

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