State reaches deal with union to avert strike during national exams period

Education CS Prof. George Magoha. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has said that the administration of national examinations that will start next week will be smooth.

Prof Magoha said the government has reached an agreement with Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) to avert a looming strike that would have paralysed the tests.

The union had threatened to call a strike after Teachers Service Commission (TSC) declined to start talks on the renegotiation of the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

Magoha however said that its all systems go for the examinations.

“As the  head of the education sector and as the father and the grandfather of all the children, I already reached out to Kuppet to call off that strike and I can assure you that exams will take place,” Magoha said at Karibaribi Secondary School in Kiambu.

Magoha said the tests will start next week as planned.

Some 2.1 million candidates will sit the 2021 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).

Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) chief executive David Njengere said 1,225,507-odd candidates will sit KCPE in 28,316 centres.

And for KCSE, he said 831,015 candidates were registered and will write the tests in 10,413 centres.