Crisis Looms Over Budget Cuts on Exam and Invigilation Fees.
The recent budget cuts announced by the National Treasury threaten to disrupt the administration of national exams managed by the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC). With exams just three months away, stakeholders are concerned about the potential challenges and anxiety this will cause for the hundreds of thousands of candidates scheduled to take their tests in October and November.
The National Treasury has instructed Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), Judiciary, Parliament, Constitutional Commissions, and Independent Offices to reassess their revenue and expenditure estimates for the Financial Year 2024/25. In a circular dated July 5, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u highlighted 24 areas affected by budget cuts, including a complete elimination of funds for examination and invigilation fees.
Prof. Ndung’u explained that the Financial Year 2024/25 budget relied on additional revenue measures amounting to KSh344.3 billion outlined in the Finance Bill 2024, which President William Ruto rejected last month. “This rejection created a financing gap of a similar amount and implies that funding expenditures of KSh344.3 billion is not tenable. In line with Article 223 of the Constitution and Section 44 of the PFMA, Cap 412A, the financing gap necessitates revising the budget estimates for FY 2024/25. The changes will appear in the context of the FY 2024/25 Supplementary Estimates No. 1,” stated the circular.
KNEC had been allocated KSh5 billion as an exam waiver fee in the rejected Finance Bill. The recent budget cuts have come as a shock to many education stakeholders, who fear this will further complicate the exam process. Despite presenting their program of activities to the National Assembly annually, KNEC has been operating on significant budget deficits.
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Experts expected KNEC to start receiving funds at the beginning of this month. They feel disappointed with the budget cut because the council needs full support to ensure the smooth delivery of this year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam, Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), and other assessments. Additionally, KNEC requires sufficient funds for the thousands of invigilators.
One expert, who requested anonymity, revealed that public documents show KNEC has been receiving a flat rate of KSh5 billion for exams every financial year, despite a steady increase in the number of candidates and other critical processes required to maintain the exams’ integrity. “From what I have gathered over the years, government reforms on exams have been very expensive. Questions have been raised on why the government did not consider using the same principle it uses in the education sector, known as per capita funding, but does not apply the same for exam funding,” the expert said.
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Per capita funding, used in areas like the disbursement of funds and distribution of textbooks, considers the enrollment number in a learning institution. However, this approach is not applied to exam funds. Since 2017, just one year after the government began covering exam fees, KNEC has been operating on a deficit. According to audited accounts by the Auditor General, KNEC had a deficit of KSh3.8 billion, which hindered its operations.
Since 2016, the government has paid examination fees for all candidates in public and private schools to ensure every learner can take national exams. For this year’s KCSE registration exercise, KNEC announced that the government would cover exam fees for all students, except those retaking exams, non-Kenyans, and private candidates registering in sub-county private examination centers.
The examination fees are as follows: KSh5,000 for seven subjects, KSh5,400 for eight subjects, KSh5,800 for nine subjects, and KSh1,800 for KPSEA. For those retaking the exam, the fee ranges from KSh3,100 for one subject to KSh6,300 for nine subjects, while the KCSE qualifying test registration fee is KSh3,000 per candidate.
An education expert, who requested anonymity, questioned the government’s decision. He said, “Yesterday, I saw a circular on budget cuts on exam and invigilation fees and wondered why the government is trying to create a crisis and cause anxiety in the country. We have always known that it fully caters for this, and KNEC must deliver without fail.” The expert argued that the government should have issued such communication at the start of the year.
Separately, Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Deputy Secretary General Hesbon Otieno expressed concerns over the cuts, stating that they will drastically affect parents and learners and may even prevent some learners from sitting the national exams. “If there is a 100 per cent cut on exams, it means that the burden of exams has been reverted back to parents. This action will be drastic as most parents and so many candidates might miss sitting the national exams,” Otieno said.
In the circular, the Treasury CS mentioned that the government will control expenditures by initiating austerity measures on provisions for operations and maintenance. Implementation of these measures will take across all MDAs, including semi-autonomous government agencies.
Crisis Looms Over Budget Cuts on Exam and Invigilation Fees.
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