Striking CRE Examiners Won’t Be Fired – KNEC
The Kenya National Examinations Council has dispelled rumors that teachers who left the CRE marking session will no longer serve as examiners.
A Knec official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to the Star stated that the examiners were contracted.
Examiners for Paper 1 staged a standoff at St. Francis Mang’u on Tuesday, seeking increased pay and enhanced services.
The source stated, “We will do investigations as a council, and everything will follow due process.“
This occurs despite the council’s swift action to address the matter.
“Within the contract, they have their obligations and we have ours. In any contract an individual has the option to opt out,” he said.
The official questioned the reason for the walkout, citing the contract’s transparency.
The teachers were informed of the marking rates by the time they downloaded their call letters in December 2022.
"We take in the teachers as contractual professionals to mark national exams, and they knew the rates we give them,” he added.
The agreement signed by the teachers specifies the amount to be paid, the obligations of the teachers, the term of the contract, and Knec’s involvement.
Tuesday, Knec issued an official statement in which he declined to meet the requests of the CRE Paper 1 teachers.
According to a statement by KNEC chairman Julius Nyabundi, the initial agreement cannot be modified midway.
“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,” Nyabundi said.
The council urged teachers who wished to continue grading papers to remain.
Those unwilling to continue were permitted to clear the school grounds.
Striking CRE Examiners Won’t Be Fired – KNEC