Kuppet faults State over budget cuts on exam, invigilation fees

 

Kakamega Hill school class eight candidates sit their Knec examination test paper on October 21, 2020. [Benjamin Sakwa, Standard]

A teacher’s union has expressed concern over the government's decision to slash the budget of the Kenya National Examination Council (Knec).

The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) officials stressed the urgent need for the government to address budget cuts to prevent disruption to the national examination process and safeguard the future of the country's education system.

The union's acting Secretary General Moses Nthurima warned that budget cuts will severely hinder the council's ability to deliver credible examinations scheduled for three months from now.

"The union is deeply concerned by the massive reduction of the budget for the Kenya National Examination Council. The Council’s budget has been cut to zero," Nthurima said.

This announcement follows a circular issued on July 5 by the Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u, which listed 24 areas affected by budget cuts due to the rejection of the Finance Bill 2024. Among these cuts is a 100 per cent reduction in examination and invigilation fees.

The circular explained the implications of this decision:

“This created a financing gap of a similar amount and implies that funding of expenditures to the tune of Sh344.3 billion is not tenable. In line with Article 223 of the Constitution and Section 44 of the PFMA, Cap 412A, the financing gap will necessitate revision of the budget estimates for the FY 2024/25. The changes will be regularized in the context of the FY 2024/25 Supplementary Estimates No. 1.”

Previously, Knec had been allocated Sh5 billion as an exam waiver fee in the rejected Finance Bill.

Nthurima expressed concern that the lack of funding for national examinations might force parents to bear the costs.

“With only three months left before the examinations begin, this means there be no national examinations this year unless parents agree to foot the costs,” he said.

He questioned whether the government intends to privatise the administration and marking of exams or switch to online exams due to the lack of budget.

Nthurima emphasized the critical role of examinations in the education system, calling on the Ministry of Education and the government to reinstate the budget to ensure teachers do not have to work without compensation.

“We are asking the Ministry of Education and the government to reinstate the budget because teachers are not ready to offer services for free and we have been offering services for free,” he said.

Since 2016, the government has covered examination fees for all candidates in public and private schools to ensure no learner is excluded from taking national exams.

Kuppet Chairman Omboko Milemba warned that the budget cuts could lead to a crisis and increase anxiety nationwide.

“With austerity measures spoken about, and having realised there is no budget to the Knec, it means that the council could either be forced not to administer exams for lack of a budget, or to surcharge the parents like they used to do before,” he said.

He noted that paying examination fees and invigilation costs has enabled higher school enrollment and that the government should not backtrack on these gains.

Milemba, who is also the Emuhaya MP, expressed disappointment that the budget cuts were not communicated earlier saying that Knec has been operating on a static Sh5 billion budget despite rising candidature and operational costs.

“We cannot take the steps back on the gains we obtained over the years where education is now paid for, but also exams paid for,” he said.

“As we carry out the austerity measures, we should ensure that education is safeguarded not only the Knec because the exams are going to be administered, but because education is a unit that generates the future of the country-human resource,” he added.

Recently audited accounts revealed that Knec had a deficit of Sh3.8 billion, complicating its ability to function effectively.

Milemba also called for the placement of Grade Nine students to secondary schools to address budget constraints and optimise teacher allocation.

“We are grappling with the budget cuts. With these austerity measures, we now want the government to move Grade 9 to secondary schools,” he said.

“Teachers who were teaching Form One will not be having lessons for Form One next year, and we cannot move them to primary. This will affect the Curriculum Based Establishment of the secondary schools. The best thing is to take the students there to the teachers,” he added

The Kuppet Chairman noted that Sh24 billion is needed to build classrooms in primary schools, Sh20 billion for laboratories, and another Sh50 billion to hire more teachers for Junior Secondary Schools.