KICD assures no textbook crisis, learning materials are available for all grades

In a statement, KICD Chief Executive Officer Charles Ong’ondo said that textbooks for all learning areas from PP1 to Grade 9 are either in schools or available in the open market.

“As of today, the only textbooks for rationalized learning areas at Grade 7 and Grade 8 have been finalized this December. They should be available in schools and markets from February 2025, after corrections of errors and printing by publishers,” he said.

Ong’ondo added that the country has spent Sh51 billion on textbooks, with Sh47 billion paid to publishers since 2018.

“The learning areas concerned are agriculture, creative arts and sports, and pre-technical studies. The curriculum designs were rationalized in December, so there is no crisis regarding textbooks now or even in 2025,” he said in the statement.

He further explained that there are relevant books for the concerned learning areas that were produced earlier before the rationalization, covering all the strands within those areas. “For creative arts and sports, there are books on physical education, visual arts, and performing arts. In pre-technical studies, there are books on pre-tech, business studies, and computer studies. Similarly, for agriculture, there are books on agriculture and home science,” he explained.

The slight delay in the Grade 7 and Grade 8 books for these learning areas was due to the need for rationalizing the curriculum after the release of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER) report on August 1, 2023.

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KICD noted that the delay in finalizing Grade 7 and 8 books was a result of this rationalization process, which was initiated after the PWPER report. It further stated that the curriculum designs were adjusted by December 2024 to align with these reforms, enabling the development of rationalized textbooks for PP1 to Grade 3, upper primary, Grade 9, and specific Grade 7 and 8 subjects in April, August, and December 2024, respectively.

“There is no textbook crisis now or in 2025,” KICD reiterated, urging stakeholders to remain confident in its ability to deliver high-quality resources for learners.