Teachers who administered the 2022 national exams will now have to wait till end of month for them to start getting paid.
In the 2022 exams and assessments a total of 28,408 teachers were used as centre managers, 28,727 as supervisors, 74,990 as invigilators and 5,647 as examiners.
Initially teachers were happy and were awaiting for their dues to be paid starting this week as was earlier promised by Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu.
Machogu had said the government will start paying dues owed to the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) examiners in the 2022 exams this week on Monday.
Speaking on Saturday during the inaugural Education Day by area MP Gitonga Mukunji at Kangaru School in Manyatta Constituency, Embu County, the CS said Ksh. 2 billion has been set aside to ensure that KNEC examiners, contracted officials and suppliers’ debt is cleared.
Machogu said moving forward, his ministry will prioritize prompt payment to examiners to ensure no such delays will be experienced again.
“Walimu wetu ambao tunatumia kuwa examiners katika mitihani yetu ya kitaifa najua tulichelewa kidogo kulipa pesa yao wale walitusaidia national marking ya 2022 lakini sasa kupitia kwa mheshimiwa rais tumepewa billion mbili kutoka next week mimi nitawalipa wote,” he said.
Additionally, CS Machogu said they had from last week started paying contractors who undertook construction of Competence Based Curriculum (CBC) classes their dues which had mounted to Ksh.2.5 billion.
He further added that the ministry will be employing 25,000 teachers this financial year being an addition to the 30,000 employed last year to reduce student-teacher ratio.
“…we have also for the first time in many years been able to employ 36,000 teachers last financial year. This year alone the government will employ 24,000 teachers, a number that we’ve not had for a long time this is because the president is able to recognize that we need to have enough teachers for proper quality teaching to go on,” the Education CS added.
Manyatta Member of Parliament Gitonga Mukunji and other leaders who were in attendance hailed the programme saying that it will be a game-changer in shaping future career paths of the young minds.
“Another programme that is supposed to kick start soon is the digitization of our schools. Nataka kuhakikisha kila day secondary school iko na computer na wototo wanaweza kutumia computers mapema,” Mukunji added.