Teachers To Invigilate KNEC Exams For Free Following Budget Cuts
Teachers To Invigilate KNEC Exams For Free Following Budget Cuts. According to education stakeholders, the Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) is facing a significant crisis due to recent budget cuts.
These cuts could cause significant hardship and anxiety for the hundreds of thousands of candidates who will sit the tests in October and November, just three months away.
The National Treasury has issued guidelines for;
Ministries
Departments
Agencies (MDAs)
The Judiciary
Parliament
Constitutional Commissions
Independent Offices
This is to review their revenue and expenditure estimates for the 2024/25 financial year.
In a July 5 circular, Finance Minister Njuguna Ndung’u outlined at least 24 areas affected by budget cuts, including a 100% reduction in examination and supervision fees.
Prof. Ndung’u explained that the 2024/25 financial year budget was to be funded through additional revenue measures of Sh344.3 billion as detailed in the Finance Bill 2024 which was rejected by President William Ruto last month.
This created a funding gap of a similar amount, necessitating a revision of the budget estimates for the 2024/25 fiscal year.
These changes will be formalized in the FY 2024/25 supplementary estimates no.
Impact on KNEC
Knec had been allocated Sh5 billion as an exam waiver fee in the rejected financial proposal.
The latest cuts have shocked many stakeholders in education, as Knec is running significant budget deficits despite submitting its annual program of activities to the National Assembly.
Stakeholders had expected the council to start receiving funding early this month.
One expert, who chose to remain anonymous, noted that public documents show that the Knec receives a flat rate of Sh5 billion for examinations every financial year, despite the constant increase in the number of candidates and other critical requirements.
The expert questioned why the government does not use the principle of per capita funding to fund examinations as it does in the education sector.
Since 2016, the government has paid examination fees to all applicants enrolled in public and private schools to ensure that no pupil misses the national examinations.
For example, Knec announced at the start of this year’s KCSE registration that the government will pay examination fees for all students except those who move, non-Kenyans and private candidates who register at lower level private examination centres.
Examination Fees Breakdown
Regular and Private Candidates
Seven subjects: Sh5,000
Eight subjects: Sh5,400
Nine subjects: Sh5,800
–KPSEA: Sh1,800
Repeating Exam
One subject: Sh3,100
Nine subjects: Sh6,300
KCSE Qualifying Test Registration
Sh3,000 per candidate
Additional Concerns
Another unidentified expert expressed concern about the budget cuts, suggesting the government is creating a state of emergency and excessive anxiety.
According to the expert, such a communication should have been issued at the beginning of the year. Separately, Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Deputy Secretary General Hesbon Otieno expressed concern that the cuts will have a significant impact on many parents and students and may cause some students to miss national exams.
Otieno stressed that returning the weight of the cost of tests to guardians will have extreme results as many guardians may not be able to afford the cost.