Exam marking pay row between Knut and Kuppet may delay results

Knut chairman Wilson Sossion (left) and acting secretary-general Mudzo Nzili address journalists in Nairobi on November 19, 2013.

A dispute over payments for teachers who will be marking national examinations risks delaying the release of the KCPE and KCSE results, putting the fates of hundreds of thousands of candidates in the balance.

The two rival teachers’ unions — Knut and Kuppet — are yet to agree on whether their members should mark the examinations with Kuppet asking its members to stay away until they can strike a deal with the Kenya National Examinations Council and Knut telling its members to go ahead and mark the exams.

Kuppet has been demanding that the money paid to its examiners should not be taxed. It also wants teachers paid after every week.

Usually, payments for examiners take months to process due to delays in government procurement procedures. The union has been pushing for a 300 per cent increase in the allowances that examiners are paid. It has also been demanding better accommodation for the examiners.

MARKING CENTRES

This year, 5,500 teachers will be marking the KCPE papers. Another 11,000 will be marking the KCSE papers. The teachers will be accommodated in 33 marking centres across the country.

On Tuesday, Knec said the teachers will receive enhanced payments this year.

For instance, the basic fee will range from Sh800 for an ordinary examiner to Sh30,000 for the KCSE chief examiners.

Teachers will also be paid a script fee with the lowest paid examiner getting Sh42 per script and the highest paid getting Sh68. Each examiner will also be given return fare depending on the distance travelled. They will also earn Sh150 per day as co-ordination fee.

“Some of the issues raised by Kuppet have been addressed and the rest will continue to be addressed incrementally,” Ms Frida Were, the head of public communications at the examination council, said in a statement.

She also said teachers will only be paid an advance script fee “at the end marking exercise” as they wait for processing of their final payment.

IGNORE BOYCOTT CALLS

“Marking is already in progress as we continue to address several issues that have been raised,” she said. “The marking process for KCPE examination started on 18th with live marking expected to run from 26th November to 3rd December.”

On Tuesday, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) told its members to ignore boycott calls by Kuppet.

The move, which marks yet another superiority contest between the two unions, has threatened to delay the timetable for marking exams and releasing of the results.

Mid-this year, the unions were locked in a dispute over a salary increment for teachers. Although the members of both unions went on strike for about a month, Kuppet signed a deal with the government to end its strike. Knut followed a few days later, settling for a package that was close to the deal signed between Kuppet and the government.

This time round, it is unlikely that the teachers identified to mark the examinations will boycott given that they earn substantial allowances for the duration and that they are required to individually enter into contracts with the examination council.

Knut acting secretary Mudzo Nzili and national chairman Wilson Sossion on Tuesday said they had held successful consultations with the examinations council on the question of payments since May.

“We agreed that taxation be waived for examiners who will earn less than Sh133,000,” Mr Nzili said during a press conference at the Knut headquarters in Nairobi.

Earlier in the day, Kuppet national secretary for secondary schools, Mr Edward Obwocha, said the union had intensified its regional meetings urging examiners to boycott marking.

The union is scheduled to meet Nyanza examiners on Friday to mobilise them not to report to their respective marking centres.
As a rule, KCPE results are released a day or two after Boxing Day in December, while KCSE results are released towards the end of February.