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In his March 7 column, Mr Isam Latoti, in an article titled KICD’s role should not stifle imagination in literature criticised the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) for recommending textbooks that have little or no entertainment value in schools. “All such books possess a subtle didactic value that only overshadows the manifest enjoyment imaginative literature is designed to elicit in a reader,” he argued.

He accordingly challenged KICD to “accommodate diverse and experimental writings that excite the mind,” for study by the students.

I believe KICD is guided by the intellectual and artistic excellence of the books they prescribe. Works of outstanding literary excellence educate and entertain readers. They appeal also to widely shared concerns and values that are neither dated nor confined to a village or a country. The concerns and values they affirm are of universal implications.

The artistic character of a work of art implies the work is flexible enough to appeal to readers of all cultures and times. This is because a great work of art is allegorical or symbolic. The concerns Latoti raises can be read at literal or primary level as well at secondary or correlated level of significance. It is the reason KICD recommended books with characters Latoti mentions: Waiyaki in The River Between, Ihuoma in the Concubine, Okwonkwo and Chief Nanga in Things Fall Apart and A Man of the People, respectively. You are likely to find these characters in most of our villages, clans, tribes, nations and institutions—given more or less similar pressures they respectively face in the books.

George Orwell’s Animal Farm was written to address and define political dynamics and events in his time. However, the book still retains relevance and meaning ever since Orwell published it in mid 1940s.

A book with artistic excellence doesn’t stifle but kindles the imagination of the reader. Latoti agrees that Ngugi, Achebe, Amadi, Oludhe, Ogolla and Shakespeare were great artists. It follows that the books they wrote are not only great, edifying and pleasurable to read.

The issue Latoti should worry about the most is that the current generation of students are not being exposed to extensive reading of works of outstanding literary merit before they embark on the intensive reading that setbooks require.

Students can’t appreciate or enjoy setbooks without prior sufficient exposure to books of outstanding literary merit. Background knowledge of anything determines a person’s understanding. Without basic appreciation of fictional works, one can’t make sense of setbooks. This is regardless of the number of time one reads them. I have met people who know the storylines of books they have read but have no idea what the book is all about when taken to task. They are unable to see the obvious correlation between the book and real life situations, until someone demonstrates it to them.

It, therefore, doesn’t matter whether the setbooks KICD recommends for study for KCSE “speak of current realities” or realities of bygone time.  The students will not read the books with the critical appreciation skills that are required. This is the reason most find setbooks—regardless of the nationality and time of the author—a drudge and not a pleasure to read them. It doesn’t matter whether setbooks “accommodate diverse and experimental writings.”

Intensive reading of setbooks without an extensive reading background is an exercise in futility. Students don’t understand anything if they have not read books of comparable depth, breadth and rigour. Most of the stuff students read—out of their own volition—is lightweight in vision, purpose and morals. The books are not also sophisticated or complex enough in terms of plot, diction and other literary devices.  This is what concerns me. This is what should concern anybody interested in the proper preparation of students for the vagaries of the future.

Literature operates at allegorical or symbolic levels. Literature doesn’t test comprehension skills—even though understanding is critical in appreciating a work of art. Literature as a subject is about critical thinking; analytical and conceptual thinking; imagination; problem-solving; and discerning patterns or tendencies.

We should urge school administrators to stock libraries with quality books—fiction and non-fiction—and create time for students to spend quality time reading the books.

KICD has introduced a new cohort of setbooks for study by students. Very soon you will see literary scholars writing guidebooks for the students. Most students spend more time reading guidebooks than the setbooks themselves—because they can’t read the books critically in the first place. Why can’t the students gain an articulate grasp of the books without the guidebooks? That is the question we should be asking.

— The writer Communications Officer, Ministry of Education