KICD warns schools over unauthorised textbooks as distribution of Grade 11 books begin

KICD CEO Prof Charles Ochieng Ong'ondo when he appeared before an Education Committee session Parliament, Nairobi. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Schools risk legal action for using textbooks and other learning materials not approved by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), with the curriculum agency warning that such materials could expose learners to inaccurate and poor-quality content.

The warning came as publishers raised a separate but related alarm over textbook piracy, accusing some head teachers of photocopying and reproducing books supplied to schools.

The publishers have now revealed that they will work with the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) and law enforcement agencies to pursue offenders.

KICD chief executive officer Prof Charles Ong’ondo issued the warning yesterday as the institute launched the distribution of Grade 11 curriculum support materials ahead of the transition of Grade 10 learners to Grade 11 next year.

“Today the media published the list of approved books for Grade 11. We want to inform our public: please do not use books that are not approved by the institute. It is utterly illegal,” Ong’ondo said.

He said the approval process was meant to ensure that learning materials supplied to schools meet the required curriculum standards.

“KICD and other stakeholders make sure that the book we are selling to schools is exactly what the learner needs and meets the expected standards,” he said.

Ong’ondo warned that schools using unauthorised materials could not only be committing an offence but could also expose learners to content that has not undergone quality assurance.

“So when we use books or any other materials that are not approved by the institute, then we are not just committing a crime, but chances are that we are giving the children material that is not quality assured, and sometimes that has wrong, inaccurate content.”

The warning comes as KICD begins distributing Grade 11 textbooks, teachers’ guides and English and Kiswahili literature set books to schools. The materials are intended for both regular and special-needs education learners.

Ong’ondo also announced that the council had approved Grade 12 textbooks, with distribution expected to begin by May next year.

The Grade 12 approval, he said, would help complete the first round of providing curriculum materials for basic education.

Ong’ondo also directed publishers to ensure the books reach individual schools rather than being delivered to sub-county headquarters.

He asked school officials receiving the books to verify the quantities against the Ministry of Education’s records and immediately report any discrepancies.

“If you get any excess or undersupply for some reason, please inform the KICD immediately,” he said.

The distribution data emerged as another concern, with KICD Council chairman Simon Gicharu calling for the Ministry of Education to provide accurate information on schools and learners to prevent persistent oversupply and undersupply of textbooks.

Gicharu asked the ministry to provide the institute with “timely, complete, and accurate data on the number of schools, number of learners, and their subject” to improve distribution.

He said KICD was determined to ensure that the problem of oversupply and undersupply became a thing of the past.

Gicharu also said the vetting and evaluation of Grade 12 curriculum materials had completed the current cycle of curriculum-supporting material development.

He said the process would pave the way for a review of the entire basic education curriculum, from pre-primary upwards, based on monitoring reports.

The textbook rollout has also exposed tensions around the protection and financing of publishers’ work.

Kenya Publishers Association chairman Musyoki Muli warned that publishers would intensify the fight against piracy, unauthorised translation, plagiarism and other forms of reproduction of textbooks.

Muli said the association would work with KECOBO, the Ministry of Education and law enforcement agencies to ensure offenders are pursued.

“There are certain head teachers in certain quarters that pick the book as provided in good quality and produce their own using photocopying machines and bad street printing machines and therefore rip from where they not sown,” Muli said.

He said publishers would take a more aggressive approach to protecting copyrighted material.

“As an association, we shall be more vigilant, working with KECOBO and working with other law enforcement officers, including the Ministry of Education, to ensure that every person that fails to protect the book is brought to book,” he said.

Muli also called for schools to ensure that officials are available to receive textbooks during the distribution period.

He said transporters had previously travelled to schools only to find nobody available to receive the books, delaying deliveries.

The larger rollout, he said, is expected in the first week of January, while publishers want access to schools during November and December to complete deliveries.

The piracy concerns come as publishers continue to grapple with financial challenges associated with government textbook contracts.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba acknowledged the challenges facing publishers and said the government was focused on resolving the issue of resources.

“I want to assure the publishers here that I know the challenges that you are facing and I am focused on ensuring that we resolve that particular issue relating to resources,” Ogamba said.

He thanked publishers for producing Grade 10 and Grade 11 textbooks despite the challenges and assured them that the government would meet its obligations.

“You have lived up to your part as a ministry and as a government under the guidance of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Kenya. I can assure you that we are going to meet our obligations,” he said.

The CS said the government had distributed 168,831,216 textbooks since 2019 to support the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum from Grade 1 to Grade 10