Teachers to stay on duty during exams

Teachers have been ordered to remain in schools during this year’s national examination period.

Teachers Service Commission chief executive Nancy Macharia told school principals to ensure all teachers reported to school as usual until the examinations were over.

In a circular to secondary and primary school head teachers, Mrs Macharia told teachers to work on the curriculum during the examination period.

It was, however, not clear which specific duties the teachers will carry out given that non-candidates will have sat their end of term tests and gone on holiday.

Meanwhile, the Kenya National Examination council has asked parents to help police and teachers guard containers in which examination papers will be stored.

Council chairman George Magoha said the containers would be in each sub-county across the country, adding: “We should not leave the task to police and teachers alone.”

The more than 10 million copies of examination papers for 1.5 million candidates will be highly guarded as the government is determined to reclaim the credibility of national examinations that has been severely dented by massive cheating in the past.

The Kenya Certificate of Primary Education and the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education tests will start on November 1 and 7.

Prof Magoha spoke at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development in Nairobi on Wednesday during the unveiling of a new parents association to be chaired by Nicholas Maiyo.

He asked parents to resist judging their children on the basis of the grades they attained, saying there was more to life than mere grades.

Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i welcomed the new parents’ leadership and said the government was determined to make education more inclusive.