- A proposed law before the National Assembly has sought to limit the right to strike for teachers assigned examination duties during national assessments.
- The Bill has followed threats by teachers’ unions to withdraw services over about Sh1.5 billion in unpaid 2025 KCSE and KPSEA allowances.
- KNEC has announced that payment of the outstanding allowances will begin on Thursday, August 13.
Teachers assigned to supervise, mark or administer national examinations could lose the right to strike while the tests are underway if a proposed law before the National Assembly is approved.
The restriction is contained in the Kenya National Educational Assessments Council Bill, 2026, which seeks to regulate the conduct and administration of national assessments.
The Bill, sponsored by National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah, proposes limiting the right to strike for workers whose involvement in industrial action could interfere with the administration or security of national examinations.
The proposed restriction would apply only during an assessment period and where a strike is considered likely to undermine the examination process.
The Council would have the authority to determine whether industrial action could threaten the integrity or security of an assessment, affect the rights of other people involved or disrupt the orderly conduct of the exercise.
“The right to strike guaranteed under Article 41(2) (d) of the Constitution shall be limited pursuant to Article 24 of the Constitution only to the nature and extent contemplated under subsection 2,” the Bill states.
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The proposed provision would affect teachers and other personnel directly assigned examination duties, including invigilators and examiners.
It would not, however, prevent teachers generally from exercising their constitutional right to strike outside the circumstances covered by the proposed law.
The move comes at a time when the administration of the 2026 national examinations is facing uncertainty following threats by teachers’ unions to withdraw their services over unpaid examination allowances.
Teachers are demanding about Sh1.5 billion in outstanding allowances for personnel who supervised, invigilated and marked the 2025 KCSE and KPSEA examinations.
The unions have argued that teachers should not be expected to take part in this year’s examinations before outstanding payments are settled.
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The dispute has persisted despite assurances from the Ministry of Education that funds for the allowances had been released.
KNEC has since announced that payment of the outstanding allowances would begin on Thursday, August 13.
The Bill will now be considered by Parliament before it can proceed through the remaining stages of the legislative process.
By Jonathan Mwinzi
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