A special fund for invigilators and exam markers Formed, Lawmakers
Senators are now calling on the government to establish a specific fund for paying teachers who oversee and grade national exams in order to put an end to the ongoing delays.
They also want the government employees responsible for the delays to pay penalties and interest.
The action is in response to ongoing payment delays by the Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) for the 2022 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) tests’ invigilators and examiners. More than 50,000 secondary school examiners and their primary school equivalents have not yet received payment.
Senator nominee Esther Okenyuri had inquired as to why the government had still not paid teachers more than four months later.
Ms. Okenyuri stated, “We want the Senate Education Committee to look into what steps Knec intends to take to get the teachers paid right away.”
Ledama Olekina, a senator for Narok, proposed the creation of the fund. He stated that the money students pay to take the two national exams will be put into the account.
“Students pay to take the exam, thus the funds are available. Because they consistently postpone payments, Knec has a reputation for having this problem, according to the lawmaker. “The most rational way to do this is to link it to the fees that students paid to take that exam. Budget this money for paying the teachers and place it in a designated account.
He contended that a motion ought to be proposed and passed in order for Parliament to make a decision that would be final on the matter.
The instructor replied, “Here teachers are paid peanuts and are still frustrated to get the little amount due to them. Suppose our sitting allowances are delayed, we will be complaining and paralyzing everything.”
A funding shortfall, according to Knec CEO David Njeng’ere, has made it difficult to carry out tasks like paying examiners. He stated that in order to pay the examiners, they are awaiting a supplemental budget from the Treasury.
However, newly-nominated Senator Beatrice Oyomo expressed regret that while results are announced and celebrated nationally, instructors who made sacrifices for the exam’s success are still not being paid.
This, according to Ms. Oyomo, “displays a lack of gratitude to teachers for the sacrifice they make while marking the exams.”
A special fund for invigilators and exam markers Formed, Lawmakers
