The association led by Chairman Lawrence Njagi on Thursday explained that their books go through a rigorous quality control process to ensure that the books are suitable before they are approved by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development/MOSES MUOKI
NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 18 – The Kenya Publishers Association has disowned books with inappropriate content reported to be in circulation in schools, saying the books have originated from neighbouring countries.
This follows uproar in the last one week where a number of books have been widely circulated on social media highlighting errors in textbooks.
The association led by Chairman Lawrence Njagi on Thursday explained that their books go through a rigorous quality control process to ensure that the books are suitable before they are approved by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development.
“As Kenyan publishers we have no control of what people bring from outside the country. It’s the responsibility of our parents and teachers to ensure that only approved materials are used in our schools. Some of the books I have seen are not even approved by Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development,” said Njagi.
He for instance said that a book indicating that the head is used to carry loads doesn’t come from Kenya but is from Ghana in West Africa.
Njagi however said errors highlighted in some of the books they have published have been taken out of context as the content is factual adding that one’s interpretation does not invalidate the entire quality of a book.
“From the highlighted reports the most visible concern was about a book with an illustration that an MP must have a helicopter, which although was not a factual error has been addressed appropriately by the concerned publisher,” said Njagi.
The other example he gave was a book with an illustration of a child in full school uniform digging in farm when the rest of the learners are in class.
“This could be a form of punishment which amounts to child abuse in this context. The book is therefore correct,” he added.
Some of the errors detected in the textbooks circulating include mix-up of content, spelling mistakes and poor arrangement of topics among others.
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