Congestion, confusion, delay of capitation mark start of Term One 2025

Despite promises from the government that all was ready for Grade 9, a spot check by The Informer Media Group indicated that some students were forced to share classes due to inadequate infrastructure.
Some schools were even forced to construct makeshift classes for the learners as provision of adequate infrastructure .
Parents of Grade 9 students are also grappling with textbook shortages with some books completely not being found with booksellers attributing the shortage to delays in publishing and slow distribution to bookstores.
“I have not found the Grade 9 books I was told to buy but I am still on the lookout,” Brenda, a parent of a grade 9 kid in Nairobi, told The Informer.
The sellers said there has been confusion even in the sale and distribution of Grade 5 and 9 books with the Kenya Publishers Association blaming the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development of failing to give guidelines on which course books will used. It only released the list of books on Saturday, two days to opening day.
“We were doubting if the books would be changed or they were going to use the old ones but we are now informed and we are selling the previous ones and also the new,” Kenneth Indabira, the retail manager at the textbook centre said.
Parents stated that they had reserved buying because they were not sure as they could go to school and be told they had the wrong books.
The ministry of education however said they the printing of the books is already done and they’ll be readily available to public schools next week.
“The printing and publishing of grade 9 books is at 85 per cent done and the distribution is ongoing and the remaining percentage will be done by next week. Some schools also did not have teachers to receive the books but we have taken care of that,” Education PS Dr Belio Kipsang stated early this week.
Kenya Publishers Association has also assured parents that books for Grades 5 to 8 will be available by the end of January.
Course books for grades five to eight have been rationalised following recommendations of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms that took into account the views of Kenyans aimed at improving the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
Two weeks before the opening of schools, the government had assured parents that it was fully prepared for the transition to Grade 9 and that it put in place all necessary measures to ensure a smooth and successful process.
The government said that the construction of 16,000 classrooms to be used by the Grade 9 nationwide was being done in three phases.
As the country ushered in Christmas, Government Spokesman Isaac Mwaura stated that the first phase of 3,500 classrooms was complete, while the second phase of 7,500 classrooms was 57 per cent complete.
Mwaura said that the final phase of 5,000 classrooms was underway and was expected to be completed by December 2024.
Additionally, Mwaura stated that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) had recruited 56,000 teachers on permanent contracts while another 20,000 intern teachers were to be hired by January 2025.
School headteachers and principals will also have to find ways of keeping their institutions running after the National Treasury indicated the release of capitation will delay as the government does not have money.
According to Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, the earliest schools can get the 50 per cent capitation due this term is at the end of this month.
“Let schools not act like there is an emergency. Learning can still go on even if we have not released the funds,” he told a local daily.