Teachers marking the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams at State House Girls have downed their tools.
The teachers went on strike over unpaid allowances a day after their colleagues at Moi Girls.
According to the Standard, the teachers received word that their colleagues at other centres were sent home without pay hence the go-slow.
They were set to mark the last paper, English today before being released on Wednesday.
They also complained that their allowances had been halved to reach Sh10,000.
“Since we came here, we have not received any single pay. We were told due to the current Covid situation, the allowances have been cut by half to Sh10,000,” a source told the daily.
They added, “We are the last batch of teachers. We have had to deal with poor diet, congestion in hostels and harassment by KNEC officials. Some of our colleagues have been assaulted and it is only fair that we get our allowances before we head home.”
Teachers marking KCSE stage a go slow over reduced allowances. Situation at State House Girls' pic.twitter.com/qb0Dh8kHD2
— LINCOLN NJOGU (@muriukilincoln) May 4, 2021
On Monday, the teachers staged protests outside their work station. Police officers tried to calm the situation.
Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) secretary general Akelo Misori had earlier warned of unrest if the government did not meet their needs.
Read: 27 Teachers Fired for Leaking KCSE Exam, Results to be Released by May 10
Apart from allowances, the teachers had demanded expansion of exam centres to ensure social distance.
“We had expected the government to have already made provisions that exam centers be expanded due to Covid-19 protocols. The current regime is that there’s a lot of congestion among the teachers,” said Misori.
Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association chairman Kahi Indimuli had earlier noted that management of exam centres would be difficult due to financial challenges.
“The government promised to release the funds a few weeks ago and we are still waiting,” Indimuli averred.
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