Panic at Knec as board begins vetting all staff

Education CS Fred Matiang’i. An audit report has recommended fresh vetting of all Knec staff to address challenges at the council. [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

Anxiety has gripped the Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) after the new board kicked off a fresh round of vetting for all 400 staff.

A source at the council said all staff will undergo scrutiny, in what many at the council fear may send some of them home. “Staff are only being re-examined on suitability on their respective responsibilities. This does not mean they will be sacked,” said the official.

The 2015 Final Report of the Adhoc Committee of the Council on Integrity Issues, which recommended fresh vetting, found that background checks of candidates who passed employment interviews was not done in a timely manner.

It says appointment letters were issued before receipt of letters of recommendation on suitability for employment from referees. “All categories of employees in Knec should be vetted, including uttering declaration of interest,” reads the 46-page report.

The senior management of the Knec comprises heads of departments and units that are part of the office of the CEO. They include test development, printing and manuscript department and examination administration department.

Others are planning, information and communication technology (ICT), finance, general administration and human resource management, research and quality assurance departments, supply chain management, internal audit, public communications and legal affairs.

The report says all staff should complete the vetting forms, copies of which should be retained in personal files. There are 407 members of staff, 380 of who are permanent and 27 temporary.

“There is need for regular follow up briefings and screening of vetted staff. Knec should request for confidential reports on all prospective employees,” reads the report.

Staff vetting is outlined in the Knec human resource manual under section 4.11.3 which stipulates that “the rational of vetting is to determine suitability of employees of Knec workforce before employment is offered”.

Between 2010 and 2014, the report says, some 107 staff left the council on resignations, normal or early retirement and dismissal. During the same period, 102 new staff were hired.

On promotions, the report says 42 staff had stagnated in one grade for up to 21 years. “Of the 42, 21 have stagnated in one grade for periods ranging between eight to 10 years, while the 19 have stagnated for periods ranging between 11 to 13 years. Two have stagnated for 21 years,” reads the report.

Thirty four disciplinary cases were reported between 2011 and 2014. Of these, 12 were summary dismissal and 19 warnings with transfers.

The report also found that there was no link between the appraisals process and other human resource systems such as trainings, guidance on performance, staff development and career progression based on incentives or sanctions.

Speaking when he dissolved the Knec board in March, Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said the audit report findings given to him revealed “fundamental systemic challenges that must be decisively and conclusively addressed”.

The findings of the audit report on integrity also reveal that “ethnic alignment is a widely perceived problem in Knec”.

“The ethnic structure of Knec exhibits disproportionate dominance of seven or eight communities which constitute 80 per cent of the workforce,” reads the July 2015 report.

It says 23 of the 42 Kenyan communities are represented in the council work force. The Kamba constitute 28 per cent of the work force with Kikuyu (18.08 per cent), Luhya (17.17 per cent), Luo (8.58 per cent), Meru (7.73 per cent), Gusii (6 per cent) and Kalenjin (5.15 per cent).

These combinations constitute 91.47 per cent of the junior and middle-level Knec employees under grade EC2 to EC9.

The audit further says the Kamba (21.9 per cent), Kikuyu (19.1 per cent), Luhya (15.2), Meru (5.62 per cent), Luo (12.92 per cent), Gusii (6.74 per cent) and Kalenjin (5.62 per cent) constitute 87.3 per cent of senior employees at grades EC10 to EC15.

Other communities with significant presence in the workforce are Embu, Somali and Taita.

“There are no Kuria, Duruma, Ogiek, Ilchamus, Arabs, Asians, and Europeans in the KNEC workforce. The Nubia, Maasai, Chonyi, Turkana and Pokomo each have only one employee in KNEC payroll,” reads the audit report.