The Kenya Publishers Association cleared the air over illustrations in some newly-published textbooks that people found inappropriate after being shared online.
On Thursday, led by chairman Lawrence Njagi, the association disowned two books which have also been faulted for misleading learners.
In one of the books, a caption read "the head is used to carry loads while the other illustration shows a couple in bed."
However, Njagi claimed the books were not local, but from Ghana and the United States.
“Saying we use our heads to carry loads, I completely concur that that is an unthinkable explanation of the use of an average African head," the Chairman noted.
"Our heads are not for carrying loads. We have a lot of uses for our heads. This is not a Kenyan textbook and is not used in our curriculum. This particular textbook comes from Ghana in West Africa. It has nothing to do with our curriculum or publishing houses,” he added.
Njagi defended an illustration for Grade Two textbook that depicted a flamboyant politician who visited a school in a helicopter that Kenyans condemned.
“Teachers and learners are cheering. I saw a helicopter. It was flying low. It was flying just above the trees. ‘Our leader! Our leader!’ we shouted. It was our Member of Parliament. He travels in a plane. It belongs to him," the caption on the photo read.
"The helicopter landed in our school playground. Three big cars arrived at our compound. They too belonged to him. He came out and greeted us. His wife waved at us. She had golden rings in her hand. He told us if we do well, he will give us a treat. He will lift us up the skies. I will try my best,” it further added.
Njagi maintained that adults were interpreting it in the wrong way and thus distorting the intended meaning.
“There is nothing factually wrong with that passage. The passage should be looked at in the eyes of the child, not in the eyes of the politician or us the grown-ups,” the Kenya Publishers Association Chairman stated.
