How textbooks emerged as the silver lining in CBC journey

Parents buy learning materials at Vaghela Bookshop in Kakamega town on January 2, 2025. [Benjamin Sakwa,Standard]

As schools reopen, Grade Nine learners will be the first to receive updated textbooks aligned with the rationalised curriculum following the reduction in the number of subjects.

This comes as textbooks emerged as the golden egg in the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) amid an array of challenges plaguing its rollout.

The government, in 2023, reviewed subjects under CBC, reducing the number of learning areas in lower primary from nine to seven.

In upper primary, the number of learning areas has been reduced from the 10 to eight, while in junior secondary, subjects have been scaled down from 14 to nine.

Charles Ong'ondo, the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) chief executive, told The Standard that the new books to be distributed will align with the revised learning areas. The distribution will also include Grades 1 to 6, he said.

"The restructuring removed overlaps and reduced learning areas, meaning schools will only need textbooks that align with the core subjects," Prof Ong'ondo said.

Ong'ondo admitted that the adjustments, while necessary, had caused temporary confusion in some schools.

"We are aware that some schools were left with surplus materials for subjects no longer being taught under the restructured curriculum. Moving forward, we are ensuring that only the correct, updated textbooks are delivered," he said.

Despite significant challenges in implementing CBC, parents have raised concerns about gaps in learning caused by a lack of key materials.

Since its inception in 2018, CBC implementation has been marked by skepticism, uncertainty, and doubt.

However, amid a shortage of classrooms, critical infrastructure, and inadequate teachers, Ong'ondo argues that the silver lining has been the availability of books.

While flagging off textbooks in October 2024, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba emphasized the importance of curriculum support materials.

"The distribution of textbooks to schools has been an annual event since the inception of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC). The Ministry of Education has diligently distributed CBC textbooks for learners in Grades 1 to 8 to ensure the policy of one-to-one books for every learner is met," Ogamba said.

This success, he explained, was made possible by a shift in procurement strategy, where the government decided to centrally purchase all textbooks and distribute them to schools.

This was a departure from the earlier arrangement, where school heads were provided funds to procure textbooks independently.

Ong'ondo explained that the previous approach had locked out many learners as the books retailed at prohibitively high prices.

The decision to centrally procure books, he said, led to a drastic reduction in textbook prices.

"A committee was formed, comprising KICD and Ministry of Education officials, to evaluate the prices of textbooks in the market and negotiate with publishers for already-printed books to bring their prices down. The result of those negotiations was a price reduction of almost 50 per cent for every book," Ong'ondo said.

The supply followed CBC grade rollouts starting in 2019. In 2019, books were supplied for Grade 4 in 13 learning areas.

In 2020, books were supplied for Grade 5, followed by Grade 6 in 2021. Grade 7 books were delivered in 2023, and Grade 8 materials were supplied in 2024.

"With centralized procurement and distribution, every learner-whether in Nairobi, Turkana, or Mandera-will receive the same textbook on a one-to-one basis," Ong'ondo explained.