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The Ministry of Education has come up with a raft of policies in the past two years. Some have been progressive and well-thought-out while a few have been adopted without much consideration.
The supply of course books to schools is laudable. It has substantially reduced the money initially spent on the same through booksellers and head teachers. Learners also are given a book each, hence greatly improving the learner-text book ratio. Teachers find their work enjoyable and more satisfying. Parents have the burden of buying books for their children reduced.
The teacher and learner use books as sources of content and as instructional resources, thus contribute to learning in a variety of ways. Content is usually presented in a logical and coherent manner, making it clear, interesting and attractive to learners.
Aside from these functions, the teacher uses it for planning, giving exercises and assignments. To the learner, textbooks help in exploratory reading, pleasurable reading and a springboard for notes.Textbooks also serve the learner to confirm teacher points. As a whole, textbooks play a critical role in the learning process.
However, being a reflection of the author(s) interpretation of the syllabus makes each book vary in the treatment of content. That is why it’s advisable for textbooks users to refer to a variety of books since they differ in content, points, illustrations, examples and language use.
Imposing on schools a single book per subject runs counter to what education experts recommend. Creativity and imagination can easily be realized where learners are among others exposed to a variety of interpretation of the syllabus from a motley of authors. Let textbook users listen to several voices on content areas.
Great aplomb
It engages their mind, frees their imagination and allows them to engage both their hard and soft skills, making them become innovative. Exposure to a single textbook may encourage rote learning and hamper creativity and imagination. We need to facilitate deep learning in our schools.
The society requires critical thinkers and problem solvers. I doubt whether our textbook policy will stimulate this in our children. Learners are expected to show great aplomb in dealing with challenges they come across. This can only be attained where critical thinking is encouraged. Reading a variety of books is partly a fertile ground for this.
Reading many textbooks has the potential of making one develop good language skills. It improves our expressive skills so that we are able to speak and write well in the language of instruction. This is more urgent today because communication is a key 21st century skill. Each author(s) will employ own dexterity in use of words, which learners borrow.
Similar policy
Learners need to be confident to face examination. The cheating and arson attacks that are rampant in our schools are partly traceable to poor preparation on the part of candidates. Consequently, they are filled with anxiety and panic whose allure is to cheat in examinations. Reading many textbooks in a subject will make the learners see the exam items from a multi-faceted angle, thereby have all the points demanded by an item. Coupled with the interest this is bound to engender in a learner to the content, learning is bound to occur.
We should in the light of the foregoing, reconsider the current practice of purchasing only one textbook in a subject for learners in public schools. I suggest that the government borrows a leaf from other countries where a near similar policy is in practice. Let teachers be allowed to propose the textbooks they prefer from among the ones in the Orange book and forward their choices to the ministry.
Alternatively, the ministry could choose titles from the list of approved books and share the six from that list on the basis of set percentages. We should not base our purchase on price so much. The truth is that education is an expensive commodity and digging slightly deeper into our pockets for the sake of our future generation should not make us agonise so much.
As the policy stands today, some few publishing firms are reaping a lot while the majority can’t even do with crumbs from the table. In fact, if we continue with the current practice,soon many publishing firms will close business. Let’s support those firms whose books have passed the vetting process to enable the country continue from benefiting from the industry.
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The Government should also give room for revision books, under the policy of books supply. Revision books will enable learners aclimatise with the format and demands of examination questions, hence develop confidence to tackle the tests.
Dr Ndaloh teaches at Moi [email protected]