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Textbooks in Kenya

Map of Kenya showing different counties

Textbooks in Kenya are used within the education system and are developed, published and approved of by the Kenya Institute of Education (KIE). Education in Kenya has been identified as a fundamental human right and recognised as critical for individuals to reach their full potential and contribute to nation building. The publication and development of textbooks in Kenya has played a key role in improving education according to the government's vision. The Kenyan government has been committed to providing this quality education through its control of the production and supply of educational textbooks. There is a lack of educational access and equity in rural and less economically developed areas, and the distribution of textbooks reflects this.

Textbooks for Kenya have historically been produced by multinational publishers, which have reflected different cultural and social contexts to Kenya. After 1963, Kenya began to produce and publish its own textbooks through the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation (JKF) and the Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB) which were suitable for the Kenyan people and reflective of the countries government policies. Market liberalisation later encouraged competition between national publishers and this improved the quality of textbooks. Textbooks are still sometimes printed offshore due to problems with quality during printing and local printers not being able to meet the printing standards set by development actors. Textbooks are approved by the Ministerial Textbook Vetting Committee (MTVC), which evaluate textbooks before allowing them to be published and distributed to schools.

Textbooks have been found to have a generally positive impact on the education of Kenyan schoolchildren, as they increase participation and attendance in the classroom, both with students and teachers. They have the greatest impact on the highest achieving students, and those from poorer backgrounds, narrowing wealth disparities of educational attainment.

There have been critiques of the content of textbooks, and the inequalities of access. Previously Kenyan textbooks have enforced gender stereotypes. The depiction of women in radical gender roles within textbooks currently is influenced by Kenya's aid relationships with development actors, who encourage the promotion of gender equality to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The insertion of this contrasts with the reality experienced by students daily and has not been found to improve understanding of gender equality amongst students. It does not align with the challenges girls face at school and home. Another critique is that textbooks are not in the native tongue of schoolchildren but frequently are in English, creating an additional challenge for students receiving their education. This has been influenced by development actors like the World Bank.

There have been concerns raised about the unsuitability of textbooks for deaf learners. Textbooks frequently contain long sentences and paragraphs, complex vocabulary and a lack of illustrations. An improvement of these features would benefit both deaf and hearing students by aiding comprehension.

The Kenyan government stopped providing textbooks in the 1980s as a result of market liberalisation, leaving the purchase of textbooks from publishers up to parents. Many parents are unable to afford textbooks and don't buy them as a result, exacerbating inequalities. This also resulted in lower access for rural areas which relied on a centralised system of distribution. A study has found that covering the cost of textbooks and uniforms for students led to an uptake in enrolment.

The Provision of textbooks

History of textbook publication in Kenya

The publishing of textbooks in Kenya has strong international links. Educational publishing in Kenya can be traced back to 1894 when a printing press was set up on the coast to produce gospel materials. Until 1965, the textbooks used in Kenya were mainly produced by multinational publishers, particularly in the United Kingdom.

The Oxford University Press Building

After becoming an independent country in 1963, the Kenyan government created the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation (JKF) and a curriculum centre which formed the Kenya Institute of Education. These two institutions were established to produce textbooks locally which were socially and culturally acceptable to the Kenyan people and reflected government policies. Despite this, multinational publishers like Longman, Oxford University Press (OUP), and Heinemann and Macmillan continued to dominate the market from the early 1950s to the late 1980s. This was because they had the financial resources to attract well-trained personnel and the JKF did not have the capacity to produce enough textbooks for all Kenya schools. Core textbooks were developed by KIE and whilst supplementary readings were developed to conform to the curriculum by the multinational publishers.

Kenya has four major private printers: The English Press, Auto Litho, Kenya Litho and Sun Litho, alongside the two state owned publishing houses, the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation and the Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB) which have their own printing presses. When Kenya changed its education system in 1985, the two state-owned publishing houses- KLB and JKF - instead dominated the production and distribution of textbooks for primary and secondary schools over multinational publishers. Core textbooks were authored by KIE and published by JKF and KLB, whilst local and multinational publishers provided supplementary readings. One core textbook per subject was published and provided to a class, and all schools in Kenya were expected to use these.

The publication of textbooks has always been the centrepiece of the Kenyan publishing industry. This textbook market provides the main source of income for all kinds of publishing houses in Kenya. Market liberalisation in the 1980s encouraged competition between private and state-owned publishers, enabling the Kenya Institute of Education to focus on the evaluation of textbooks and the increase of quality textbooks. The Kenyan ministry often places more emphasis on technical specifications though rather than the contents of textbooks. A study interviewing teachers found that teachers are not satisfied with the process of developing and approving textbooks as they are not included in this process. Research lateremerged that despite the government withdrawal from the purchase of textbooks, it is still involved in the production and has skewed the market in favour of the state owner publishers-JKF and KLB- through the government's provision of core recommendations. The KLB and JKF were reported to dominate 90% of the primary school textbook market. The KLB controls around 15% of the primary school and 45% of the secondary school market, whilst the JKF controls around 75% of the primary school market in mathematics and English.

^{Issues with offshore printing}

The actions of global development actors have previously influenced the use of offshore printers. Local book publishers claim that the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), the World Bank and the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), imposed stringent printing standards that are impossible to meet. This means local publishers instead chose to print offshore.

There were however problems with the quality of textbooks local printers were creating. Some textbooks had very poor opacity, differing size typefaces and page layout, and poor registration of colours. Others had poor or no illustrations, with book covers and binding which would not last. In a 2004 evaluation and production exercise, publishers were given only four months to print the requested textbooks for primary and secondary schools, as well as promote and market these. This pressure caused mistakes to be made in production, and smaller printers especially could not cope with this pressure and lacked the capacity to process large volumes, whilst meeting the stringent conditions set by the KIE and International Aid Agencies. This led publishers to favour offshore printing, preventing Kenya from generating revenue from its printers.

Role of Textbooks in Kenyan Education

Impact on learning

A Kenyan classroom

The education system in Kenya places a high emphasis on the use of textbooks. Learning in schools and colleges is characterised by the reading of selected textbooks and taking notes regularly from them. Teaching and learning that is not based on the use of textbooks are frequently perceived as less effective. Schools usually provide textbooks for teacher use but provide few for children. A study found that in grades three, four and five, only one of every six students had textbooks in the most important subjects (English and Mathematics), and very few have textbooks for other subjects. It is standard practice for textbooks to be shared between two.

Most children in Kenya attend some amount of primary school. 43% of those who enrol in first grade, complete seventh grade. At the end of eighth grade, a national exam is taken to allow progression to secondary schools. Only the best students are able to take this exam. Research conducted in Kenya has found that textbooks increased the probability of those who take the exam are able to progress to secondary. It also found that the provision of textbooks generally raised test scores for high achieving students. The textbooks had a greater impact on students from poor backgrounds, reducing wealth disparities in educational outcomes. There is a disparity in the educational attainment between urban and rural schools, but the provision of textbooks were able to narrow these and boost the performance of rural areas. There is little evidence that textbooks alone can resolve issues within the Kenyan education system, such as teacher and student absenteeism. However, in the schools which received textbooks, teachers spent more time teaching, assigning work and monitoring students whilst students paid more attention, and overall teacher absenteeism declined. Textbooks may widen the gap between the best and worst students, though this study suggests they have an overall positive benefit on education.

Textbooks aren't always used efficiently to improve education in schools. It has been observed in a study that learners in classrooms rarely use the textbooks. There is also a lack of full access to textbooks for students often, meaning they don't get the full benefit. To improve this, the engagement of learners in activities requiring the use of textbooks is recommended, to facilitate the development of interest in the textbooks, and the desire to learn from them without needing to be encouraged.

Critiques of textbook provision in Kenya

Influence of international actors on the development and content of textbooks

Due to Kenya’s status as a developing country, the development, content, and language of its published textbooks have been influenced by international development actors.

Depictions of Gender Roles

Although Kenya has been able to develop its own textbook publishing industry, this operates under pressure to develop textbooks and curricula under the conditions of the international aid community. For example, particular attention is paid to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which emphasise quality education and gender equality by demonstrating Kenya’s commitment to gender equality within textbooks. As a result, the Kenyan Ministry of Education has brought focus on gender equality and equity into the school curriculum and textbooks. Previously, textbooks published did not incorporate gender equity, and instead reinforced gender stereotypes of male dominance and female subordination.

Sustainable Development Goal 4-Quality Education

Efforts to contribute to the SDGs have frequently appeared as transformative gender roles instead being displayed in textbooks. A study found that recent textbooks have attempted to show a gender-neutral idea of the division of labour.  Despite this, the images in the books continue to align with more conservative and old-fashioned perspectives. The images have still shown women and children to be responsible for housekeeping, cooking and cleaning. Women are shown in caregiving careers. When looking at scenes of domestic labour in their textbooks, students interpret these images based on their home lives, not the other way around. The use of foreign conceptions of gender and labour have been ineffective as they do not match the realities students experience. Another study used a survey to gather data on student and teacher perspectives on gender and education. It found that girls' and boys' views on gendered roles were still evident, with most seeing household chores as a women's job, and farming as a man's. It also gathered data on the gendered inequalities evident in the school itself: girls have higher absenteeism from school as a result of household chores, under-age pregnancies, and early marriages. A lack of toilets and privacy in schools and a lack of well qualified female staff further contribute to girls' absenteeism from school.

A study from Kenya, in response to gender stereotypes that have prevailed despite efforts to remove them from textbooks, recommended the development of detailed checklists to identify stereotypes in order to move towards a more gender inclusive curriculum equally representing both men and women. To further gender relations in Kenya, the focus could instead be on tailoring the content to Kenya, as it usually publishes content according to its cultural context. Textbooks could emphasise the challenging of ideas of labour and gender by opening discussions, rather than displaying foreign ideas to students. This issue has primarily arisen from the influence of international actors who exist in culturally and socially different contexts and have impacted the content of textbooks.

Language

In the Kenyan education system, children are taught in a combination of English, Swahili and the local language from grades one through three. The language of instruction is English from the fourth grade on. Textbooks usually reflect this and are written in English. Some studies show that some schools ignore this rule, and do not teach in the language of the catchment area.

In spite of the language policy in Kenya stating that learners in lower primary school should be instructed in the language of the catchment area, studies in pre-primary school show that some schools ignore this rule. Concerns have been raised about children learning foreign languages before they have become fluent in their first language.

"It has always been felt by African educationists that the African child's major learning problem is linguistic. Instruction is given in a language that is not normally used in his immediate environment, a language which neither the learner nor the teacher understands and uses well enough"- Pai Obanya.

The language of instruction within classrooms and textbooks has been influenced by development actors like the World Bank. The World Bank places emphasis on the use of African languages in the early years of school only as a strategy to ensure a smooth transition to the use of English as a language of instruction. They continue to place pressure on the reduction of government subsidies in education even though these subsidiaries are needed for the promotion of teaching in local languages.

Inequalities of access

Kenya introduced a free primary education programme in 2004, boosting enrolment of students rapidly. The availability of textbooks has not kept up with this increase. The high costs of textbooks have exacerbated this issue of access.

Deaf Learners

The textbooks published for use in Kenya have been criticised for being unsuitable for deaf learners. For deaf learners, a range of problems have been identified: textbooks often use long sentences and paragraphs, complex vocabulary and include large chunks of text without illustrations. There is also a lack of consistency in the materials published for use in schools, as they vary in quality and content. This poses challenges to both hearing and deaf learners. Instead of publishing textbooks designed specifically for deaf learners, existing ones could be improved by incorporating features suggested by teachers of the deaf. This would enable the needs of other learners struggling with reading and comprehension to be addressed. Many problems raised by deaf learners are experienced by other learners who are learning in a language different to their native tongue. For example, the inclusion of illustrations can benefit both parties and aid the comprehension of challenging topics. The downside of this would be the increased size and cost of the textbooks. By not addressing the needs of deaf learners, inequalities are increased between the deaf and hearing in Kenya as they are unable to learn at the same pace and as effectively.

Deaf students at Kayieye school, Kenya

Funding

In 1988, the Kenyan government stopped providing textbooks to schools, and instead began to rely on parents purchasing them for their children. This was a result of structural adjustment programs fronted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank which led to a reduction in government spending in the education sector. The economic liberalisation in Kenya also caused an increase in the prices of paper and textbooks prices as a result. For most textbook purchasers, they view textbooks as very expensive and prioritise their basic essential needs before the purchase of textbooks. This market liberalisation also halted the distribution of textbooks to all parts of the country by the government using a centralised system. This means for textbook users in rural areas, accessibility was lowered. Moreover, a study found that people outside of urban areas had lower average earnings which affect their purchasing power and often could not, or would not purchase textbooks. However, it was found that parents would buy textbooks after their children and teachers had explained that the textbook was important to their educational performance. Many of the books which receive core recommendations are authored by the KIE and published by the state-owned publishing houses.

Currently, in Kenyan schools, the hire and pay of teachers are funded by the Ministry of Education. All other costs of running the school, including textbooks, are covered by funds raised by local school committees, primarily composed of parents. About 80-90% of the textbooks that students have were purchased by their parents, rather than by the school. In some cases, books have been bought for schools by the community through fundraising. Generally, this policy meant parents could only afford to send their children to school if they had the money to cover the costs of textbooks, uniforms and writing materials. A study found that a program providing textbooks and school uniforms led to a 40% increase in enrolment, suggesting that textbook provision and fees play a large role in children being sent to school.

Further Reading

• Education in Kenya
• Textbooks
• Deaf education in Kenya