EDITORIAL: Textbooks programme needs adequate support

Ideas & Debate

EDITORIAL: Textbooks programme needs adequate support

Sunday, July 28, 2019 22:00

By EDITORIAL

Reports that the government has abandoned plans to offer upper primary school pupils a textbook each for every subject due to a cash crunch has left many parents dumbfounded.

After earlier promising that each pupil would be given a textbook for each subject, the Ministry of Education has now made an about-turn and said that it will instead have three pupils share a single text book due to lack of funds. It is our view that the government should tread very carefully when it makes promises to young Kenyans only to backtrack later.

This is an unacceptable trend that should not be allowed. According to the ministry, the Class Five and Six pupils will receive the textbooks in January. We aver that the government owes the young children a better explanation on why they will not each receive textbooks as earlier promised.

The ministry says that the Sh700 million that was provided for the purchase of textbooks was inadequate to offer the 2.6 million Class Five and Six pupils with a textbook each for each of the six subjects. While we understand the ministry’s desperation, many Kenyans will find the reason unacceptable in a country where multi-billion-shilling scandals are the order of the day. It is time we started putting the welfare of our children on top. When the government started supplying books directly to schools last year, there were high hopes among Kenyans that the target of achieving a 1:1 textbook to pupil ratio would be attained. The direct supply was introduced so as to get rid of cartels that had taken over the distribution chain hence inflating the prices of textbooks.

The programme’s main aim was to improve learning in our schools by providing the necessary tools to guide this.

We urge the government to come up with a quick solution that will enable the textbooks programme to succeed.

No Kenyan would fault the government if it increased the budgetary allocation for the ministry so as to ensure that our children have access to enough books to enable learning in a conducive atmosphere.

But in order for Kenyan pupils to have access to adequate books and equipment there must be goodwill from the leaders. The textbook programme should be given enough funds to ensure its success. That’s the least that the government can do for our children.