KISUMU: The Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) should review its decision to use school heads as supervisors, a unionist has said.

Kenya Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) Kisumu County Secretary Zablon Awange urged Knec to employ full-time supervisors to avoid inconveniencing school principals.

He urged Knec to clarify the new law that requires principals to collect and return exam papers in the forthcoming national examinations.

"What will the role of the supervisors be? Are they doing away with them? Knec should second the supervisors to work hand in hand with principals and their deputies.

"Otherwise it will be tricky in situations where a principal is a leader in other associations," he said.

Speaking at Kuppet offices in Kisumu yesterday, Mr Awange wondered whether principals would abdicate their duties as heads of institutions and use their time to work for Knec for a month.

"Knec should seriously review this issue. They (should hire) full-time supervisors and contract invigilators," he said.

The Kuppet official also urged the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to pay teachers living in Kisumu city house allowances.

Awange said TSC should have noticed that there were many teachers in Kisumu town that deserved the allowance when they turned up for collective bargaining agreement training at Tom Mboya Labour College last week.