Education CS Dr Matiangi[Photo/Kenya today]Class One and Two pupils are yet to receive course books for the new curriculum after a printing backlog delayed  production and distribution.Publishers have dedicated their resources to printing Form One, Standard Eight and Seven books for distribution to public schools, and have only now switched to printing new books for the two lower primary grades.Musyoki Muli, the chief executive of Spear Sharp Education, a printing firm, says 90 per cent of the publishers that the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KIDC) had accredited to produce Grade One and Two books are yet to complete the task.This means, pupils who reported to school early this month are yet to commence studies as envisioned by the new competence-based curriculum (CBC), which is meant to replace the current 8-4-4 system.Simon Sossion, the vice-chairperson of the Kenya Publishers Association, said that the publishers had received KICD approvals on January 12, which is “a bit late because printing takes time.”The KICD, however, downplayed the gravity of the delay, arguing that the facilitators (teachers) have been equipped to teach pupils even in the absence of the new books.Ms Jacqueline Onyango, a senior director at KICD said, “We have supplied curriculum designs to all schools involved in the pilot. This will help facilitators come up with competence-based lessons, even using the old books.”  “That said, we have been in touch with the publishers and they have assured us that everything will be fine.” 

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