The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC), on Tuesday, dealt a blow to thousands of teachers contracted to oversee and mark the ongoing Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education(KCSE) after it declared that their allowances will not be increased
KNEC Chief Executive Officer David Njengere, while addressing the press, maintained that the demand lodged by the teachers and invigilators would not be granted decrying budgetary constraints.
‘’Last year, we increased those rates and that was after almost five years of having the previous rates. So of course, we appreciate the work that the invigilators do and whenever the budget allows us, we will also be ready to increase those rates,’’ Njengere stated.
‘’For now, we will stick with the rates that were increased last year because the budget will not allow us to increase the rates for this year,’’ he added.
Kenya National Examination Council(KNEC) Chief Executive Officer David Njengere during the distribution of national exams in Murang’a
Days before the written tests kicked off, teachers, through the Kenya Union of Primary and Post-Primary Education Teachers(KUPPET), demanded a 10-fold increase in the remuneration awarded to the supervisor, invigilators, and center managers.
KUPPET officials, at the time, revealed that the allowances extended to the individual teachers were too small to facilitate them with the prevailing economic conditions.
The union has been at the forefront of the push for better compensation, submitting a formal request in September to Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba advocating for daily rates of Ksh3,000 for invigilators, Ksh3,500 for supervisors, and Ksh4,500 for principals who manage examination centres.
Additionally, speaking in a meeting in Kisii, on October 30, the teachers asserted that the government has subjected them to meager pay despite their sacrifices in ensuring the smooth administration and marking of examinations across the country.
The teachers announced that they will now demand the government to pay them Ksh6,000 per day, up from the current Ksh600.
”We are telling the government that teachers who are invigilating and supervising(the examinations) are underpaid. A supervisor is paid Ksh600 a day, which is less than the money paid to someone who works in the informal sector such as a construction handyman,’’ Joseph Abincha, KUPPET Kisii Branch General Secretary, stated.
”We are telling the government, we are not telling the Kenya National Examinations Council(KNEC) that the teachers are not going to be used to give free services,’’ he added.
Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General Collins Oyuu, in an interview with Kenyans.co.ke in October this year, also confirmed that their efforts to engage the government on the increment had been met with delays.
“The government has yet to address our demands. Teachers are growing impatient,” Oyuu remarked.
Nairobi Branch Executive Secretary Moses Mbora (left) with KUPPET leaders during a press briefing, 30 January 2024.
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