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The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) now wants the government to harmonize payment rates for Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examiners to Sh 100 per paper marked.

Currently, the markers take home different amounts of money depending on what marking subjects.

For instance, Christian Religious Education (CRE) subject assessors have only been receiving Sh55 per script compared to markers in other subjects who get between Sh60 and 70 per paper.

To bring to an end the ballooning in fights that have been termed as detrimental to smooth examination marking exercise, KUPPET officials yesterday demanded  harmonization that they also opined will bring to an end years of protests among professionals undertaking the noble national exercise.

Led by Julius Korir, the union’s national vice chairperson, the officials who made an impromptu visit at St Francis Girls High School-Mang’u, a KCSE marking centre in Gatundu North, Kiambu County that was closed on Tuesday evening following protests by examiners decried that the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has been contravening labour practices to underpay the evaluators.

“We are agitating for these teachers to be paid Sh100 and above per paper marked. Currently there is no harmony and this has brought along sustained infights. This must come to an end,” stated Korir.

Korir said that while the examiners are mandated to go through voluminous pieces of work, the government has continued to pay them peanuts.

He revealed that the assessors have been waking up as early as 4am and only put down their pens past 10am, a situation that caused them untold suffering.

Speaking to journalists along at Mang’u after they were kicked out  of the centre by armed police officers who were by last evening still manning the premises, Korir called on Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu to convene a meeting in 24 hours with key stakeholders to iron out the crisis he said could spread to other marking centres.

Ronald Tanui, the KUPPET’s national assistant treasurer urged KNEC to be consultative with other stakeholders to avert further crisis.