How school heads and suppliers stole Sh14b

Details of how secondary school heads and suppliers stole billions of shillings meant for purchase of learners’ textbooks have emerged.

The Government has been losing about Sh14 billion through inflated school textbook prices, a new report shows.

The Report of the Re-Evaluation of School Textbooks (Classes 7 and 8 and Forms 1 to 4, shows that publishers have been fixing cover prices of recommended textbooks to three times the actual price.

In the new direct-to-school textbook supply system set to be implemented in January 2018, the Government would only spend Sh7.6 billion to supply textbooks to selected classes in all public schools.

This is three times less what it will cost the Government if the current book prices to schools are upheld, when it costs Sh21.4 billion – under the approved textbook list.

A look at a sample of prices as quoted shows that a primary school textbook that currently sells at 574.20 will cost only Sh198 under the new supply system.

This means that the Government will save Sh376.

A secondary school mathematics book that cost Sh719 will now go for Sh208.

Physics books that were previously sold at Sh638 will now be bought at Sh220.

And a biology textbook that costed Sh566 will now go for Sh199.

The details emerged after a new re-tendering process initiated by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD).

The process found that the prices quoted in the current approved textbook list, called the Orange Book, were inflated. Currently, there are 35,000 public schools out of which 28,000 are primary schools.

The current Orange Book, last revised in 2003, has a list of six different copies for each subject.

Under a new textbook supply policy, it is expected that every pupil will receive a copy of the learner’s book for each subject.

Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i announced that the Government will supply core textbooks to all Form One students when they report to schools on January 9, 2018. The CS said the focus will be on the six core subjects of Maths, English, Kiswahili, Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

“Principals and head teachers should not ask Form One students to come to school with text books,” Dr Matiang’i said.

Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Secretary General Wilson Sossion has hit out at the Government plan terming it a ‘wrong idea.’

Mr Sossion yesterday said it is was wrong for the ministry to directly procure books for school.

“This is mega corruption. Teachers must have a right to choose books to use in class. They can not micromanage selection of books,” he said.

He said teachers’ professional rights cannot be taken away. “They (Ministry) need to ensure books are delivered to schools though their audit departments. KICD shortlists books and allow schools purchase books,” said Sossion.

The Government plan however shows that every secondary school will receive 10 copies of the teacher’s guide for each subject.

The project will be funded under the Sh20 billion Secondary Education Quality Improvement Project, an initiative of the Government in partnership with the World Bank.

The new textbook policy will lock out cartels and middlemen who collude with school heads to siphon billions of shillings.

“We cannot allow middlemen to mess the future of our children by inflating the cost of books,” Dr Matiang’i said.

He announced that schools will no longer receive capitation funds for purchasing books once free secondary education programme and the new curriculum are rolled out ext month.

The books supplied will bear the Coat of Arms on the front cover and will be labeled Not For Sale.

Dr Matiang’i has previously expressed concern that many schools were yet to attain the 1:1 learner to textbook ratio thus denying students important instructional material.

Under the free primary education, every pupil receives Sh761 per year towards the purchase of books translating to about Sh7.5 billion for a population of about 9.9 pupils.

A recent report of the Kenya Publishers Association (KPA) revealed that the Government could be losing up to Sh13 billion annually to fraud in purchase of books.

The report said the Government allocates up to Sh18.5 billion every year but only Sh5 billion is used in the actual purchase of books.