The Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) Tuesday, January 10, allayed fears regarding the ongoing marking of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examination.
Responding to reports of a strike by teachers marking the papers at St Francis Girls Mang'u High School, KNEC Chairman Julius Nyabundi stated that the exercise was still on course and in good progress ahead of the scheduled release date.
As regards the disruptions experienced on Tuesday, KNEC stated that the grievances raised by the teachers had already been addressed.
The examination council went on to dismiss allegations made by the teachers, noting that the strike was pushed by a group of teachers who did not want to honour the contracts signed before the assignment.
"Despite responding to their initial demand, a few of the examiners yet again came up with a fresh call that the marking fee be revised upwards.
Since the issue of the examiner's marking fee is an individual contract and agreed to before reporting to a centre, the Council found it impossible to find an extra budget to revise the rates midway," the CEO stated.
Further, KNEC noted that the dissatisfied teachers were allowed to resign from their assignments at their own pleasure.
However, those willing to continue working under the agreed rates were allowed to continue with the marking.
Consequently, KNEC invited trained examiners from its database to apply for the ceded positions as a way of ensuring the smooth progress of the exercise.
In an earlier statement, officials of the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) maintained that KNEC had adopted "unfair" measures in the process of marking.
The union led by its Secretary-General, Akelo Misori, accused KNEC of discriminating against teachers marking Christian Religious Education (CRE) at the centre where marking was disrupted.
They went on to issue a condition that the rates be revised from Ksh50 to Ksh100 per paper.
“We are saddened that the centre at Mang’u High School is under crisis where the chief examiner has resorted to intimidation of examiners and using unfair level of practices, one being to ensure that examiners wake up at 4.00 am and mark up to 10 pm. This one interferes with the sanctity of the examination," Misori stated.
