Teachers have raised fears that numerous errors in textbooks that were procured at a cost of Sh7.6 Billion will confuse learners and compromise teaching.
On Wednesday, Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed admitted that the ministry procured 33 million books to facilitate the new syllabus but, upon scrutiny, they had multiple errors and could not be used by learners.
“Our worry is the impact the errors will have on learners. Using these books may cause damage to learners either through omission of some content or overload. I have already received many complaints from teachers,” stated Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (Kessha) chairman, Kahi Indimuli.
The most affected subjects are Mathematics, Kiswahili, English, Biology and Physics.
On Page 21 of Secondary Biology Form One students book Fifth Edition, by Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB), basic parts of a microscope have been wrongly indicated.
[caption caption="Education CS Amina Mohammed"]
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On page 27 in a picture representing the structure of a cell membrane, the diagram shows that the protein molecule is the vertical space surrounding the openings of the pore. The correct naming of protein is in the horizontal space between the two phospholipid layers.
In the same book, under one of the student activities, the book takes students through tests of vitamin C but the conclusion is on vitamin D.
On page 25 of the Kiswahili book, only 12 learning areas under ngeli have been listed, leaving out two.
There is a mix-up on sounds that teachers said would confuse young students as well. For instance,vizuiwa-kwa mizwa has been used but the wording is changed on the next page. Vipasuo-kwa mizo is then introduced on page 23 instead of consistently using one.
Another error on sounds in the same book is where vitambaza, a plural sound, has been used instead of kitambaza, which is singular.
[caption caption="President Uhuru Kenyatta looking through a book during a past tour of the Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB)"]
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