The 2026 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations are facing fresh uncertainty after teachers’ unions threatened to boycott the national exercise over billions of shillings in unpaid supervision allowances, barely four months before candidates are due to sit the papers.
The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), backed by officials from the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), says thousands of teachers who supervised, invigilated and managed the 2025 KCSE examinations have yet to receive their full payments, despite the government releasing Ksh1.5 billion toward the arrears. According to the union, the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) still requires an additional Ksh4 billion to fully settle the outstanding claims.
KUPPET Secretary General Akello Misori said teachers have lost confidence in KNEC over the repeated delays and are unwilling to take up examination duties again this year.
“Our teachers have clearly expressed misgivings about taking part in this and, in fact, the majority of them are threatening that they will not take part in this exam administration,” Misori said.
Beyond the unpaid arrears, the union is also demanding a review of examination allowances, arguing that the current rates fail to reflect the workload and responsibility involved. Until 2024, invigilators earned Ksh400 per day, supervisors Ksh450 and centre managers Ksh500, with KNEC raising each category by only Ksh50 in 2025. Misori compared the pay unfavourably to the construction sector.
“Most of these exams are being managed by monies which are not even given to construction workers. Construction workers leave the site with not less than Ksh1,000 per day,” he said.
The dispute has also exposed deeper financial strain within KNEC. According to the Auditor-General’s report, the council required approximately Sh12.7 billion to administer the 2025 national examination cycle but received substantially less from the Exchequer, leaving liabilities that exceed its assets.
National examinations depend heavily on thousands of teachers volunteering as supervisors, invigilators, centre managers and examiners drawn from schools across the country. A widespread boycott would place enormous pressure on KNEC to recruit replacements at short notice, potentially disrupting supervision, security and marking nationwide.
Education stakeholders now expect the Treasury to expedite release of the outstanding funds to avert disruption. The unions say they remain open to dialogue but insist teachers cannot keep offering essential examination services without prompt and adequate compensation, leaving the coming weeks critical to determining whether the standoff can be resolved before the examination period begins.
