Grade 7 Textbooks Delay
Grade 7 Textbooks Delay. Your child has not received textbooks despite the school year having started many weeks prior due to a Sh6 billion deficit and a delay in the issuance of the distribution list.
Uncertainty has also been brought on by the report’s delayed release by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms, which will recommend whether all disciplines would be kept in the Competence Based Curriculum (CBC).
After distributing Grade Six textbooks last year, the government still owes the publishing industry Sh3 billion in unpaid balance.
18.3 million textbooks for Grade 7 will need to be printed and distributed, which will require an additional Sh3.2 billion.
Among the publishers hired to print and supply books to public schools are the Kenya Literary Bureau, East African Education Publishers, Jomo Kenyatta Foundation, MountainTop, Storymoja, Moran, Spotlight, and Longhorn.
Publishers who requested anonymity claimed they were requested to submit invoices last week after it was discovered that about Sh1.6 billion had been sent.
After distributing Grade Six textbooks, however, there is still money owed to the publishers. There has been no funding made available to assist the publication and printing of textbooks for grade seven. But, the publisher stated, “We will utilize that money to expedite the release of Grade Seven books.
About 59 percent of the textbooks, or approximately 11.6 million, had been distributed by last week.
However, Charles Ongondo, the chief executive of the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, promised that by the end of the next week, all students would have gotten their textbooks.
Publishers stated that 20% of the Sh3.2 billion, or Sh640 million, was expected to be released by the government for the Grade 7 textbooks.
Still another publisher added, “But you see what hampered publishers was that they were still owed money from past distribution and yet we had a fresh project altogether.”
The leader of the Kenya Publishers Association (KPA), Kamau Kiarie, dismissed the cost. It has been paid and is still being paid, therefore I don’t want to talk about money, he stated.
But, individual publishers who spoke anonymously claimed that the issue of delayed payment is the big one, with several expressing concern that the debt may force them out of business.
It has also come to light that some publishers hired the assistance of other publishers since they were unable to persuade their printers to process textbooks.
“Importing printing paper is a significant cost burden for us. Without paper, we are unable to print. One of the printers stated, “And it means that we must have money, which we had not been paid by the publishers.
The procedure, according to Kiarie, would not have begun prior to the publication of the report by the Presidential Working Group on Education Reforms.
“We had no idea if CBC would continue or be discontinued. And where would JSS be located if it were to be maintained? So far, nothing has been done, ” Kiarie explained.
“And once the study was made public, they declared that JSS will stay in primary schools. Also, there are many more primary schools than secondary schools, which created a logistical problem.
The working group advised that all sixth-graders enroll in the same primary schools for grade seven.
He claimed that because not all schools were anchoring JSS, it took the ministry longer to release distribution centers.
The practicalities of delivery to the precise schools where books should be dispersed are still being managed, he added.
The delayed distribution has drawn complaints from both parents and teachers. One of the obstacles to the switch from the 8-4-4 to the 2-6-6-3 educational system is this one.
Although the Grade Seven books were approved, according to Lawrence Njagi, a former KPA chairman, they could not begin writing right once.
He remarked, “We weren’t sure if the working group would recommend that certain acceptable items be deleted.
Almost four weeks after the working party submitted its findings, printing finally began.
According to Kiarie, printing paper requires a large upfront investment.
“Just five of our publishers have the ability to produce the large volumes that were needed. Also, we have four distributors who can reach the entire nation. Hence, there has been a lot of pressure, added Kiarie.
According to Njagi, a delayed distribution of capitation funds to schools also meant that publishers had not been paid.