The Kenyan government has distributed 9.9 million textbooks to public primary schools across the country. Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang announced that this initiative is part of the government’s commitment to ensuring equitable access to learning materials for all pupils.
PS Kipsang assured that all schools, including those that initially missed out due to logistical issues, have now received their textbooks. “Any school that has not received books is not because they were unavailable. It is because, perhaps, on the delivery day, the school was closed,” he clarified, emphasizing that the books have been printed and distributed.
The government has achieved a textbook-to-pupil ratio of 1:1, providing sufficient learning materials for all nine learning areas in the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC). This distribution effort underscores the government’s commitment to enhancing the quality of education.
The PS also highlighted efforts to address the teacher shortage in public schools. According to Kipsang, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) recently converted 46,000 teachers from internship to permanent and pensionable terms. Additionally, 20,000 more teachers have been posted to schools, bringing the total to over 80,000 teachers deployed to support junior secondary schools. Despite these efforts, Kipsang acknowledged that the current teacher numbers still fall short of the national requirement.
The Ministry of Education has been distributing textbooks annually since the CBC’s introduction. In October 2024, the Ministry launched the Grade 9 textbook distribution, procuring 1,000,000 learner’s books and 24,000 teacher’s guides for each subject.
To ensure accountability, sub-county education offices are expected to submit detailed reports on textbook distribution by January 31, 2025. Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to addressing resource gaps and improving learning outcomes for Kenyan students.
This initiative demonstrates the government’s dedication to achieving universal access to quality education and supporting the effective implementation of the CBC.
