Teachers To Invigilate KNEC Exams For Free
Teachers To Invigilate KNEC Exams For Free
Education groups claim that recent budget cuts have created a serious issue for the Kenya National Examination Council (Knec), which oversees national exams.
For the hundreds of thousands of candidates who will be taking examinations in October and November, only three months away, these changes could result in serious challenges and concern.
In a circular dated July 5, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u outlined at least 24 areas affected by budget cuts, including a 100 percent cut for examination and invigilation fees.
Prof. Ndung’u explained that the Financial Year 2024/25 budget was supposed to be funded through additional revenue measures amounting to Sh344.3 billion as detailed in the Finance Bill 2024, which President William Ruto rejected last month.
This created a financing gap of a similar amount, necessitating a revision of the budget estimates for FY 2024/25.
Knec had been allocated Sh5 billion as an exam waiver fee in the rejected Finance Bill.
The latest cuts have shocked many education stakeholders, as Knec has been operating on significant budget deficits despite presenting their annual program of activities to the National Assembly.
Stakeholders expected the council to start receiving funds at the beginning of this month.
One expert, who wished to remain anonymous, pointed out that despite a continuous increase in the number of applicants and other crucial requirements, public records reveal Knec has been paid a flat fee of Sh5 billion for exams each fiscal year.
The expert questioned why, in contrast to the education sector, the government did not fund exams using the per capita funding concept.
In order to guarantee that no student misses the national exams, the government has been covering examination costs for all applicants enrolled in public and private institutions since 2016.
For instance, Knec indicated at the start of this year’s KCSE registration that the government will pay exam fees for all students except those re-sitting, non-Kenyans, and private candidates registering in sub-county private examination facilities.
Concerning the budget cuts, a another unnamed expert expressed alarm, implying that the government is creating an emergency and undue fear.
According to the expert, such a notification ought to have been issued at the beginning of the year. Separately, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) deputy secretary general, Hesbon Otieno, voiced concern that many parents and pupils will be significantly impacted by the changes, potentially leading to some students missing the national exams.
Otieno emphasized that putting the onus of test costs back on guardians would have dire consequences because many guardians might not be able to afford them.
