Govt Distributes 15 Million JSS Textbooks
The government of Kenya has recently distributed 15 million textbooks for Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) as part of their efforts to stabilize the JSS program.
According to Belio Kipsang, the Principal Secretary for Basic Education, the distribution of books has reached 80% of the required amount for Grade Seven learners.
“We are at 80 per cent in terms of books distribution to JSS, on Monday we distributed 15 million books out of the 18 million books that are required for our Grade Seven learners,” added Kipsang.
Kipsang stated that they were settling the issue of Junior Secondary School and they believed that by the time their kids returned from Easter holidays, Grade Seven learners would be fully settled down.
Kipsang further mentioned that by the time schools closed, the government would have fully settled the matter of JSS.
According to Charles Ong’ondo, director of the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), the remaining 20% was due to data error.
Prof. Ong’ondo added that the issue was that some students from private schools that were not approved to host JSS transferred to approved public schools.
Ong’ondo explained that in certain regions of the country, such as Western Kenya, students had been transferred to public schools, and they were compelled to make sure that the learners obtained their textbooks from their current schools.
Some of the publishers hired to print and distribute books to public schools include Kenya Literature Bureau, East African Education Publishers, Jomo Kenyatta Foundation, MountainTop, Storymoja, Moran, Spotlight, and Longhorn.
In Kakamega, interviewed head teachers confirmed they had received the textbooks. Dickson Wanyangu, the principal of Kakamega Primary School, stated that the final batch of JSS textbooks have already been delivered.
“We received the last batch of Mathematics and Social Studies textbooks this week and I can confirm that almost all learners,” said Wanyangu.
Govt Distributes 15 Million JSS Textbooks
