Two people arrested for selling counterfeit textbooks in Nairobi

Two people have been arrested in Nairobi following a police raid on bookshops found selling counterfeit textbooks.

The operation, carried out by police in collaboration with the Kenya Publishers Association, led to the seizure of dozens of fake textbooks.

Acting on a tip-off, police officers raided several bookshops suspected of selling counterfeit textbooks to unsuspecting customers.

"We have confiscated cartons full of fake books. This exercise is ongoing, and we are hoping that we will erase the sellers,” Kenya Publishers Association (KPA) CEO James Odhiambo said.

The crackdown follows the arrest of five other suspects last week in Nairobi, all linked to the shadowy market of counterfeit learning materials.

The illicit trade has posed a significant threat to legitimate businesses selling authentic textbooks from KPA.

"We have engaged in very vibrant sensitization to sensitize parents, teachers, learners, and the public regarding books out there - pirated books, full of errors, mixed-up pages, among others,” said East African Educational Publishers CEO Kiarie Kamau.

Meanwhile, the Kenya Publishers Association has announced that there will be delays in the availability of Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) textbooks for Grades 5, 6, 7, and 8.

The delays stem from recommendations by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform, which proposed a rationalization of subjects to enhance efficiency, reduce curriculum overload, and eliminate redundancies.

"Ikabidi vitabu vipya vinavyofuata mabadiliko hayo ifanywe. Vitabu hivyo viko; tumewahakikishia kwamba viko harakati za mwisho kufanyiwa masahihisho. KICD ikimaliziwa marekebisho hayo na masahihisho, sisi wachapishaji tutavichapisha,” Kamau added.

In the revision of learning areas, pre-primary will have a maximum of five learning areas, with lower primary (Grades 1-3) reduced from nine to seven subjects.