Examiners who marked last year's national examinations and assessments are finally set to receive their long-overdue payments after the Ministry of Education confirmed it had received Sh1.5 billion from the National Treasury to clear the outstanding balances.
The funds will be used to pay examiners and other contracted professionals who participated in the administration of the 2025 Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) and the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations.
The payments come after more than eight months of delays that had fueled discontent among examiners and raised fears of a boycott that could have disrupted the 2026 national examination cycle.
While commending the examiners for their patience, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said the ministry received the funds from the National Treasury on Tuesday, July 7, paving the way for the settlement of the pending dues. In a statement, he said the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has already sent the cash to teachers’ accounts.
"This disbursement follows the receipt of Sh1.5 billion from the National Treasury on July 7, 2026, being the allocation for clearing the outstanding balance," said Mr Ogamba in a statement.
Teachers noted the delayed payments had eroded their willingness to participate in future examinations, given that in previous years’ payment was made soon after results were released.
What began as complaints over delayed payments escalated into a labour dispute, with teachers' unions threatening to advise members against attending KNEC training or invigilating this year's examinations until the government honours its promises.
During the presentation of the 2026/27 Budget, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi assured Parliament that Sh1.5 billion owed to examination supervisors and invigilators would be released before the close of the 2025/26 financial year on June 30.
Earlier on, National Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee Chairman Samuel Atandi had announced that Supplementary Estimates II had set aside the funds for payment.
But June 30, 2026 came and went without teachers receiving their money.
