The Bungoma County Government has bought over 40,000 text books for Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) learners across the county to help children develop critical thinking skills, oral language ability and visual literacy skills.
Speaking during the distribution of the materials to ECDE schools across the County recently, Governor Wycliffe Wangamati said that the move was aimed at laying a firm foundation for the education of young learners in the county.
The materials supplied by Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB) included text books in environmental activities, Language
(English), Kiswahili, Christian Religious Education and Islamic Religious Education.
Wangamati pledged to focus on three main pillars to improve ECDE learning namely provision of quality human resource, quality infrastructure, and quality instruction and learning materials.
The governor said 201 ECDE centres have already been built across all wards and 98 are still under construction to improve the learner’s environment.
He said that Sh 250 million has been allocated towards improvement of ECDE education in the budget.
The books were supplied to ECDE schools across the County to help teachers successfully implement the new Competency Based Curriculum.
The ECDE care givers have however complained that the CBC books supplied by the county government have numerous errors and majority are not in the syllabus.
It was also discovered after unpacking that the IRE text books were over supplied and distributed to non-Muslim schools causing more confusion.
Addressing the press in her office, Education and Vocational Training Chief Officer Rose Situma admitted that majority of the books supplied are not in the syllabus but was quick to add that the supplier has accepted to take the responsibility.
The county government is alleged to have used Sh.10 million to procure the ECDE books.
She said that Islamic religious text books were over supplied and were erroneously distributed to non-Muslim schools where learners take Christian Religious Education.
The CO revealed that 4000 out of the 40,000 text books that were bought by the county government were Islamic religious books,
“We have asked the supplier to come and take them back and have the correct ones supplied” she said.
She assured stakeholders that the anomaly will be rectified in the shortest time possible for learning to continue.
By Tony Wafula/ Roseland Lumwamu
