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Thousands 'may not sit KCPE exam'
- Details
- Published on Saturday, 07 July 2007 08:30
Teachers who had gone to register their schools were turned away by registration officials at Nyamira Primary School, but they protested the move, saying the government should intervene.
"The contributions are activity fees in disguise. President Moi abolished the fee last year but it is now being reintroduced through the backdoor."The teachers feared that thousands of pupils may not sit the examination unless the government orders district education officials to rescind the decision before the March 31 registration deadline.The deputy education officer, Mr Richard Rutto, denied knowledge of the problem. "No pupil will be barred from registration," he said.
However, when journalists informed him of what was happening on the ground, he pledged to investigate. A number of teachers said they had received a circular from an education official requiring them to contribute to the fund in full before being allowed to register their pupils.
The circular said some headteachers "have a tendency of collecting such funds and failing to remit them".The chairman of the Kenya National Union of Teachers, Mr John Katumanga, has warned that the union will not tolerate education officials who effect "unnecessary" transfers of teachers. He asked district education officers to take their work seriously as abdicating their duties "is punishable".
The official was speaking at the weekend at Moi Girls Kapsowar during the union's branch annual general meeting. The branch executive secretary, Mr Julius Chemweno, said one of the reasons for the district's poor performance in national examinations was lack of a proper working relationship between teachers and education officials.
The officials, he said, were quick to react unfavourably any time parents levelled accusations against teachers. "Parents and school committee members make delegations to education officials to complain about teachers and action is taken without the teachers being consulted."He said some school committee members bragged that they could have teachers transferred if they failed to co-operate with them. The official attributed the "unnecessary" transfer of teachers to nepotism, bribery and politics which, he said, should be eliminated.
Mr Katumanga said no law allowed parents to send delegations to education officers to lobby for unjustified transfers. "The officials should not allow parents to run the affairs of their offices," he said.
