The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) has apologised following public concerns about the content of the book Certificate Biology For Form Three.
In a statement on Thursday, August 15, KICD acknowledged that it had received complaints about a chapter in the book in which the author suggested that rape could be caused by girls dressing indecently.
The text on the topic read, "Modest dress code and behaviour to avoid provoking or tempting other persons into sexual arousal. Many rape cases are due to such provocations. One should also avoid being alone with a person of the opposite sex in secluded areas to prevent losing one's control."
KICD noted that concerned Kenyans called for a public apology, indicating that the content was misleading and perpetuated victim-blaming.
“The Institute acknowledges that indeed the sentences above could be interpreted to suggest that indecent dressing is the main cause of rape and may also insinuate "victim blaming" in case of rape.
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“Therefore, KICD offers an apology to readers who consider the quoted sentences in the book Certificate Biology for Form Three to be misleading, for not detecting this during the evaluation in 2005." read part of the statement by KICD CEO Prof. Charles Ong'ondo.
Prof. Ong'ondo further affirmed that the institute did not intend to justify rape under any circumstances.
"There was no intention whatsoever to justify rape under any circumstances; even as modest/decent dressing is encouraged among learners and the entire public, especially in the school context," he added.
The KICD CEO said that the institute constituted a panel to review the content of the book within two weeks and will give advisory to the publisher on what revisions to make to avoid potential misinterpretations.
At the same time, he noted that schools will be informed after the review on how to guide learners on the relevant topic.
According to KICD, the book was published by East African Educational Publishers (EAEP) in 2004 and evaluated/approved by KICD (KIE then), and listed in the Orange Book in 2005 before a new edition of the book was printed and distributed to schools in 2018.
