Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General Wilson Sossion has called on the IEBC to de-gazette all boarding schools listed as polling stations immediately and find alternatives.
Speaking at the ongoing induction of MPs in Nairobi, Mr Sossion stated: “The electoral commission should de-gazette all boarding schools designated as polling centres so that school programmes are not disrupted because of politics".
“There are many alternatives that IEBC can use. It is their duty to look for them but, as education stakeholders, we are totally opposed to a change of this year’s exam timetable because of politics,” the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Nominated MP went on to add.
Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i had on Monday given assurances that the exam timetable would not be revised.
The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam is scheduled to begin on October 23rd and run to November 29th while the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam is set for November 1st to 3rd of the same month.
The election, on the other hand, is scheduled for October 17th, but it is looking more likely that the date will be changed due to an inability of OT-Morpho, the IEBC's tech providers, to upgrade their systems in time.
Out of the total 40,800 polling stations to be used, more than 23,000 are primary schools.
A number of Teacher Training Colleges and Secondary Schools are also used as tallying centres.
A large number of election officials, especially presiding officers and their deputies are also usually selected from a pool of teachers.
