KCSE marking disrupted at St. Francis Mang’u Girls as teachers protest poor working conditions

Examiners marking Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams at St. Francis Mang'u Girls High School have downed their tools over poor remuneration and below-par working conditions.

The examiners, who are marking CRE papers, allege that the centre's chief examiner has introduced punitive policies that have significantly slowed down the examinations' marking process.

They also claim to be receiving significantly lower payments, for every CRE script marked, as compared to their colleagues marking Kiswahili papers.

The examiners say that they get Ksh.55 for every CRE paper marked while their colleagues get Ksh.78 for every Kiswahili paper that they mark.

Speaking on conditions of anonymity, the St. Francis examiners also claimed that they were being overworked since they start their day at 5 am and only retire to bed after 10 pm.

They added that they are also not allowed to carry electronics such as phones and laptops into the marking centre which has made it impossible for them to communicate during the day.

The stalemate, which started on Monday evening, saw Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) CEO David Njegere make his way to the St. Francis centre in a bid to de-escalate the situation but his efforts proved futile.

The examiners have vowed to continue with the go-slow until their grievances are addressed in a move that could likely delay the release of KCSE results.