What You Need to Know
The Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) is under increasing pressure to pay teachers contracted for national examinations, with delays now extending five months post-exams. Over 45,000 examiners are owed approximately Sh2.7 billion, prompting frustrations and calls for accountability from educators and lawmakers alike.
Africa-Press – Kenya. Pressure is mounting on the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) to pay teachers contracted to administer and mark national examinations and assessments last year, with the educators taking their frustrations online to lament the delayed payments five months after the exercise was completed.
Teachers who took part in the marking and administration of the exams have taken to online platforms to demand that the council honours its end of the bargain by disbursing their allowances.
The exercise involved more than 3.4 million candidates across three exam clusters, making it the largest examination season in the country’s history.
To manage the unprecedented number of candidates, Knec adopted a multi-agency approach, enlisting 342,687 contracted professionals.
These included invigilators, supervisors, examiners, drivers and security personnel, all of whom played critical roles in ensuring the smooth conduct of the national assessments and exams.
The 2025 national assessment season, which ran from October 17 to November, covered the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) and the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA).
Despite the scale and importance of the exercise, funding constraints have continued to complicate timely payments. The 2025–26 budget initially had no allocation for examinations, forcing education partners to push for intervention.
In May last year, the National Assembly allocated Sh5.9 billion to Knec against a requirement of Sh12.58 billion, leaving a significant funding gap.
To bridge the deficit, the National Treasury later provided an additional Sh3.1 billion. However, the shortfall persisted, contributing to delays in settling payments for contracted professionals.
About 45,000 examiners handling KCSE and KJSEA are owed about Sh2.7 billion, with the delays now stretching into April.
This is despite the Ministry of Education confirming in February that it had formally requested the National Treasury to release the required funds.
In a statement issued on February 12, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba attributed the delays to broader fiscal challenges.
“The delays in disbursement of allowances have arisen from budgetary and cash flow constraints currently affecting the release of funds. We wish to assure all affected professionals that payment remains a priority,” he said.
“The ministry, in collaboration with the National Treasury is actively working to resolve the matter and expedite the release of the requisite funds within the shortest time possible,” Ogamba said.
The CS appealed for patience from contracted personnel, while pledging that future payments would be made promptly.
However, the assurances appear to have done little to calm tensions, with many examiners expressing growing frustration over the continued delays.
Some have openly criticised the handling of the matter, questioning why a nationally planned exercise with a defined budget continues to face payment challenges months after completion.
“There’s no way you can treat an exam like an emergency. Everything was budgeted for. So stop these games of ‘Treasury this and that'”, one post read.
The issue has also drawn attention in Parliament. On February 20, Emuhaya MP and Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) national chairperson Omboko Milemba sought answers from the National Assembly Committee on Education over the prolonged delays.
“The said teachers rendered their time and dedicated critical national service, often working under demanding conditions and away from their families. Unfortunately, the council is yet to disburse approximately Sh2.7 billion owed to the teachers as remuneration for their services,” Milemba said.
He said payments to supervisors, invigilators, centre managers and marking centre staff also remained outstanding, describing the delays as a recurring issue that disrupts livelihoods, lowers morale and undermines the education system.
Teachers’ demands intensified further on Wednesday following the signing into law of the Supplementary Appropriations Bill, 2026, by President William Ruto at State House, Nairobi.
The law allocated an additional Sh45.28 billion to the education sector in the 2025–26 financial year in what Ruto described as reflecting the government’s commitment to deepen reform and the policy of universal schooling.
The allocation, the second largest after the Sh60 billion directed to the security sector, channelled funds to various vote heads including the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), the Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) and the University Fund.
However, Knec was conspicuously left out, further fuelling frustration among unpaid examiners.
Amid mounting pressure, Knec has also been forced to counter misinformation circulating online regarding the issue.
Fake posters and messages attributed to chief executive David Njegere have claimed the council lacks funds or is facing internal data challenges delaying payments.
One such post alleged that the council had no money to pay examiners, claiming that available funds were being used for salaries and staff loans.
Another suggested that although funds had been received, payments would be delayed due to missing data on contracted professionals.
Knec flagged both claims as false, warning the public against falling for misinformation while acknowledging the outstanding payments.
“Beware of fake news. Do not be misinformed. Kaa chonjo (be alert),” Knec said.
The council maintains that it is working to clear the dues owed to examiners and other contracted personnel.
The Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) oversees the administration of national examinations in Kenya, a critical process involving millions of candidates annually. The council has faced funding challenges that have led to delays in payments to contracted professionals, impacting the morale of educators and the integrity of the examination process. The issue has been a recurring theme, raising concerns about the management of educational resources and the prioritization of funding within the national budget.
