The outgoing Cabinet Secretary for Education Prof George Magoha has assured that the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) national examinations will start on November 28.
CS Magoha assured the candidate on Monday while at the Kerugoya Catholic Church grounds in Kirinyaga during the post-World Teachers’ Day celebrations that examinations will be done and completed on time.
While at the Kerugoya Catholic Church during the post-World Teachers Day celebrations, CS Magoha informed this year’s candidates on Monday that examinations would be completed on time.
He said that marking will also be completed in December and that the examination results will be, released on the 23rd of January next year.
Prof Magoha urged teachers who would be tasked with marking examinations to be cooperative and promised to pay them as soon as possible if they do a good job.
The CS also revealed his support for the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) and thanked President William Ruto for establishing the CBC review task force.
Magoha said that the government has invested heavily in the CBC adding that 10,000 CBC classrooms have been built across the country but the contractors have not yet been paid.
The CS said that the construction funds had been budgeted for and urged the government to release the funds so that the contractors could be paid.
Attending the same event, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General Collins Oyuu called on the government to increase teachers’ pay by60%.
Oyuu said that teachers had been demoralized due to receiving little pay from their employer the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
To motivate teachers, the Commission should consider increasing their pay,” said Oyuu.
Among Mr Oyuu’s entourage was Kirinyaga KNUT branch Secretary General Patrick Kanaiyu said that schools were understaffed and called for the hiring of 58,000 additional teachers to make teaching easier.
The senator for Kirinyaga Mr Kamau Murango, Woman Representative Njeri Maina and Kirinyaga Central MP Gachoki Gitari also attended the event and promised to keep on supporting calls to improve working conditions for teachers.