The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has sought additional funding from the National Treasury and Parliament to settle outstanding allowances owed to thousands of teachers who supervised and invigilated the 2025 national examinations, amid growing threats of a boycott of this year’s tests.
The funding request comes despite the Treasury recently releasing Sh1.5 billion to facilitate payment of examiners who marked the 2025 national examination papers. However, thousands of invigilators, supervisors and centre managers contracted during the examination period are yet to receive their allowances.
The delayed payments have sparked discontent among teachers’ unions, with the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) warning that their members may decline to oversee the 2026 national examinations unless the arrears are cleared.
During the 2025 examination cycle, which included the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA), KNEC engaged more than 340,000 personnel. These included 54,782 invigilators, 12,126 supervisors, 10,765 centre managers and 22,247 security officers and support staff.
KNEC has attributed the payment delays to a combination of inadequate funding and ongoing verification of payment details.
According to the council, Parliament allocated Sh5.9 billion for the administration of the 2025 examinations, significantly below the Sh12.58 billion required to fully finance the exercise.
KNEC Chief Executive Officer David Njeng’ere said the council is also validating records submitted through its Contracted Professionals (CP2) system after identifying discrepancies between bank or M-Pesa details and official identification documents.
He said the verification process is intended to ensure all eligible contracted personnel receive their dues accurately.
“No legitimate claimant will be left out. The council is verifying details to ensure all contracted staff are paid accurately, along with an introduced three per cent increment on overall rates,” the council said in a statement.
The dispute has intensified pressure on education authorities ahead of the next examination cycle, with teachers’ unions insisting that outstanding payments must be settled before members can be expected to participate in administering the 2026 national examinations.
