Kenya’s plan to transition the first CBC cohort to Grade 10 next year is facing a major obstacle as printing companies refuse to produce textbooks due to an outstanding government debt of Sh11 billion for books delivered for Grades 8 and 9 since 2022. The impasse threatens to disrupt the smooth continuation of the competency-based curriculum (CBC) at the senior secondary level.
A spokesperson for the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) said the textbook printing sector is under severe financial pressure because publishers, unpaid by the government, cannot settle bills with printers.
“Due to non-payment by publishers, printers are unable to proceed with the production of Grade 10 textbooks, putting the implementation of the CBC curriculum at risk,” the spokesperson said.
“The debt has strained the financial operations of printers and manufacturers, posing a significant risk to the continued rollout of the CBC curriculum especially for Grade 10 learners to transition to senior school in January 2026.”
Publishers are contracted by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) to develop and supply textbooks to schools. They then hire printers to produce the books, but payment to printers only happens after the government clears the publishers’ invoices.
KAM notes that this has not occurred for Grade 8 and 9 books delivered since 2022, leaving printers in a precarious financial position.
The delayed payments have caused printing firms to struggle with supplier debts and tax obligations. Most printers are also forced to borrow money to pay monthly value-added tax, further straining their limited cash flow and increasing production costs.
Kenya’s textbook printing industry has 10 main firms that collectively produce about 250 million books each year. Since the rollout of the CBC in 2019, over 200 million textbooks have been printed for public schools, a task now under threat due to unpaid bills.
KICD declined to comment, stating that it contracts publishers on behalf of the Ministry of Education, which had not responded to queries by the time of going to press.
