30/12/2024
MEDIA RELEASE
Nairobi, December 30, 2024
KENYA PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION (KPA) CONFIRMS AVAILABILITY OF CBC TEXTBOOKS
Following recent reports in the media to the effect that a crisis is likely to happen with regard to availability of textbooks for Competency Based Curriculum (CBC), the Kenya Publishers Association (KPA) wishes to make the following clarifications, and also confirm as follows:
1. That CBC textbooks for Grade 9 learners are in the final stages of distribution to all public schools in the country, in line with the government policy of buying core textbooks to all learners to the ratio of one-to-one (1:1). To-date, eighty percent (80%) of these Grade 9 textbooks have already been delivered to schools, and the remaining will be in schools by 6th January 2025.
2. That for the open market, which mainly targets private schools, the Grade 9 textbooks are already in bookshops. As such, parents, teachers and all those who wish to purchase the books ahead of the school opening date on 6th January should visit bookshops and do so. In the unlikely event the bookshops might not have the books, the customers can contact the Kenya Publishers Association for guidance on how to access the books.
3. That following the recommendations of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER), the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Education (KICD) did rationalisation of some learning areas, and hence released and issued revised Curriculum Designs to publishers. The Institute further advised publishers to develop and release rationalised books in the following learning areas: Agriculture, Creative Arts and Sports, and Pre-technical Studies. Publishers developed the books, submitted them to the KICD for evaluation, and the approved books are currently undergoing final corrections with a view to be released on the market in January and February 2025.
4. That in spite of the fact that there are rationalised books to be released in the areas we have mentioned, KPA confirms that, there are still sufficient relevant textbooks in circulation for these subjects: Creative Arts, Sports, Pre-technical Studies and Agriculture. These materials, produced before the rationalisation process, still meet the needs of learners and teachers in Grades 5, 6, 7 and 8, as the country transitions to the updated and rationalised curriculum support materials, as per the recommendations of the PWPER.
5. In addition, KPA is happy to inform the public that KICD has approved a variety of books for Grade 9 and other learning areas, from more than fifteen publishers. These Publishers are: Access Publishers, Bookmark Africa, Longhorn Publishers, Spotlight Publishers, East African Educational Publishers, One Planet, Storymoja, Oxford University Press, Distinction Publishers, Mentor Publishers, Mountain Top Educational Publishers, Moran Publishers, Hummingbird, Booklyst, Doritex, Atfaal, Astute, Highlands, Spearsharp and Kenya Literature Bureau. As such, learners and teachers have a rich variety to choose from.
6. Finally, KPA also wishes to assure Kenyans that books in all other areas that support lifelong learning are available in bookshops. As such, storybooks for children, novellas for Junior School, as well as fiction targeting Senior School, among others, are all available in bookshops.
For further information, please contact: Anne Atonga - 0724255848
For and on Behalf of the Kenya Publishers Association
Kiarie Kamau
Chairperson
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Kenya Publishers Association, is the umbrella body for publishers and persons or organizations with
