The Kenya National Examinations Council, Knec, has kicked off the process of paying examiners who marked the 2020 KCSE their rightful dues.
This process will see all the Knec contracted professionals receive their payments.
This payment comes after many months of delays after the official release of the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCsE) examinations.
The Council attributes the lateness in payment of the Supervision dues to the hectic process of reconciling the contracted professionals’ data.
According to Payment details released by the Council, Primary school head who will act as Centre Managers for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education, KCPE, exams will pocket a daily subsistence allowance of Sh500, for a total of 4 days (including rehearsal day).
The exams were done between Monday March 22, 2021 to Wednesday March 24, 2021.
The Council again failed to factor payment for Deputy Head Teachers and Deputy Principals despite the fact that they were present during the examination period as assistant Centre Managers.
Also walking home empty handed are teachers handling science subjects who prepared and administered practicals during the KCSE examinations.
Having worked for a full month in a very strenuous exercise to ensure that the deadline that was set has been met, the teachers (examiners) who marked the 2020 KCSE Exams have the reasons to smile while going to the bank after the Kenya National Examination Council paid their allowances.
The KCSE marking exercises can be termed by examiners as the worst experience because of the pressure that the cabinet secretary of Education piled on them. Teachers were to start and finish marking within ten days.
“Finally we can eat the fruits of our hard labor even though it is little”, one examiner has confessed.
Already the following have received pay
Home Science pp2
Music pp2
Drawing & Designing pp1
Building & Construction pp2
Bio pp2
Cre pp2
Eng pp 1
Agric pp1 and pp2
Current and Newly Proposed KCPE and KCSE Knec Payment Rates for Knec contracted Professionals and Examiners 2021
The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers, Kuppet, proposes the following Knec payment rates for both KCSE and KCPE Examiners contracted by the council for the 2021 marking exercise; compare the current Knec payment rates with what Kuppet is demanding for this year. Worth noting is the fact that despite teachers downing their tools in 2019 and Kuppet demanding for a flat rate of Kshs 100 per script for all papers, Knec gave teachers a pittance-Kshs 2 Increment per script. Will Kuppet’s proposal and tough talk have any impact?
KUPPET argues that Chemistry Paper 1, Mathematics and English Paper 1 should each be paid at not less than sh 100.
Presently, marking each paper attracts between Sh51 to Sh58.
Allowances for Teachers handling Knec KCSE practicals
“Science teachers (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) need to be considered for allowances during practical. Other practical subjects like Agriculture, Building & Construction, Music and Home Sciences should be considered too,” notes Kuppet.
Knec Pay rise for Invigilators, Supervisors and centre managers 2021
The teachers’ union also wants Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) to increase invigilators’ and supervisors’ allowances by 100 per cent, saying the present fee has been fixed for a long time.
The union also wants school heads, also known as centre managers allowance, which is presently Sh500, to be reviewed upwards.
Presently, primary school head teachers are paid a flat rate of Sh500 for the three days they oversee the administration of KCPE.
KCPE supervisors earn Sh2,485 while invigilators take home Sh1,615. Security officers are paid 1,050 while drivers earn Sh1,040.
KCSE supervisors in Nairobi and Mombasa are paid Sh695 per day for 18 days, translating to Sh12,510.
Supervisors from other regions earn Sh630 for the same number of days, translating to Sh11,340.
Invigilators in Nairobi and Mombasa earn Sh580 per day for 17 days, while invigilators from other regions get Sh460 for a similar number of days.
Secondary school principals take home a flat rate of Sh500 for 18 days, translating to Sh9,000.
Security officers who take part in KCSE’s administration earn a flat rate of Sh420 for 16 days while drivers earn Sh6,480 for the same number of days.
The union also wants transport reimbursement for supervisors and invigilators from ASAL areas to be reviewed upwards since most of the areas are expansive, forcing some to travel up to 200 km to reach their schools.
“The rates for counties such as Wajir and Tana River should be enhanced,” said Misori.
In a firm statement, Kuppet also wants coordination allowances increased by half. “Examiners’ transport allowances should be reviewed, especially when reporting to marking centres,” said Misori.
Union also wants lecturers in Teachers Training Colleges (TTCs) who assess and submit marks to KNEC to be paid for their work.
“The same should apply to TVET trainers who assess candidates on practical courses.”
Knec Marking Centres 2021
On the overall conditions of teachers working conditions, Kuppet wants marking centres should be devolved and probably rotated around the country unlike now when they are only in Nairobi.
Proposed Knec working hours for Examiners 2021
Union also wants the working hours during marking be fixed between 8.00 am to 5.00 pm to avoid fatigue.
Certificate of Participation for Knec Examiners 2021
And after the examination administration processes, Kuppet wants the teachers awarded certificates.
“Examiners should be given Certificates of Attendance to help improve their CVs for interviews during promotions,” said Misori.
Kuppet last year demanded that the venue for marking all KCSE examination papers and KCPE English composition, as well as Kiswahili insha, be moved to university campuses or other high-level government institutions.