Teachers blame government after thousands of primary school learners miss KNEC tests

Headteachers have blamed the government for failing to fund the buying of materials after thousands of Grade Four and Standard Eight learners missed the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) assessment that began on October 21, according to a news report by Nation.

Headteachers have complained of the high cost of downloading and printing the voluminous materials, especially for Standard Eight pupils who are to be tested in all subjects.

Schools are expected to come up with their timetables for the tests, which end on Friday.

The assessments will be marked internally, after which the schools will upload the scores on the KNEC portal.

Some learners are feared to have dropped out of school during the seven-month COVID-19 closure mostly due to pregnancies, marriages, and child labor.

In some schools, learners were asked to pay for the cost of printing and photocopying the test materials.

"The government only released 20 instead of 30 percent of the funds. It's not enough. Some teachers have been using their money to meet the school needs since March, " said one of the headteachers.

Every learner was allocated Sh137.40 to run through the 11-week term.