The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) has directed principals of all public senior schools to provide enrolment data for Grade 10 students in preparation for the next phase of textbook distribution.

In a notice published on MyGovt on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, KICD also confirmed the first phase of Grade 10 textbook distribution is complete, but acknowledged gaps remain, with some schools holding excess books while others are yet to receive any at all.

“The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) informs all Senior School Principals that the first phase of the distribution of Grade 10 textbooks has been completed, guided by the data initially provided by the Ministry of Education (MoE),” the notice read.

The Institute linked the mismatch to enrolment data initially provided by the Ministry of Education, which did not fully reflect actual student numbers and subject choices at the school level.

Following this directive, school principals must now provide two essential sets of information: the current enrolment of Grade 10 students for each subject and the number of textbooks initially supplied per subject during the first phase.

According to the institute, this process is aligned with government policy mandating a one-to-one textbook-to-learner ratio, with the second phase of distribution intended to ensure that every student has an individual copy for each subject.

“This will inform the second phase of distribution of Grade 10 textbooks to ensure that all learners have received textbooks in all subjects on a one–to–one ratio as per Government Policy,” KICD said.

As per KICD, under Kenya’s Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), senior school students take different subject combinations, making accurate per-subject data essential for a fair and complete allocation of books.

Principals whose schools are yet to receive textbooks, or those with more books than students, have been directed to flag the issue to KICD before the April 10, 2026, timeline lapses.

According to Charles Ong’ondo Ochieng, the data collected will be used to determine how textbook distributions will be handled for the very same learners in the coming years for Grades 11 and 12, while speaking in a press interview.

The directive follows the completion of the first term for Grade 10 learners in senior school, which was marked by a shortage of textbooks.

Ong’ondo explained that the confusion arose because some schools and students changed the subjects they had initially selected, but school administrators failed to update the records accordingly.