Thousands of teachers, security officers, and drivers who participated in the administration of the 2021 national exams in March and April have finally been paid by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC).
The allowances were sent to 86,026 personnel who participated in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) tests on Friday, but examiners who marked the papers will have to wait a little longer.
KNEC has a busy year ahead of it as it prepares to conduct the second set of national exams in a calendar year starting in November. The KCPE test was administered between March 7 and 9, while the KCSE test was done between March 10 and April 1.
The examinations involved 9,982 center managers, 10,102 supervisors, 44,614 invigilators, and 19,328 security officials. Over the years, contracted officials have complained about late payments. Many KNEC examiners have gone to social media to express their dissatisfaction.
KNEC CEO David Njeng’ere said that it takes time for the council to obtain and verify data on the contracted professionals before paying them.
“It’s not a delay but an issue of procedure and that’s why it takes time,” he said. Since 2018, the government has been waiving examination fees for all candidates in both public and private schools.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education is working to restore the academic calendar, which was thrown off by the pandemic in 2020.
Learners in Grades Three, Four, Five, and Six will all partake in school-based end-of-grade exams under the competency-based curriculum (CBC). Pupils in Grades 4, 5, and 6 will receive marks that will contribute for 20% of their overall grade at the end of the primary cycle.
Following that, Grade Six students will take the inaugural Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), which will be graded on a 40 percent score.
From November 28 to 30, the assessment will be administered parallel with the KCPE exams. This will be the second last KCPE exam before the final 8-4-4 class exits in November of next year.
Grade Six learners will be assessed on five subjects. English and mathematics on the first day, integrated science (science and technology, agriculture, home science and physical and health education) and Kiswahili on the second day, and creative arts and social studies on the third day. They also include arts and craft, religious education and music.
Knec will then administer the KCSE examinations from December 2 to 23
