Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has admitted that thousands of contracted professionals engaged in the administration and marking of national examinations have gone unpaid for more than four months due to a massive budget shortfall.
Appearing before the National Assembly plenary on Wednesday, Ogamba said the Ministry of Education and the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) are grappling with a KSh4.7 billion deficit that has stalled payments to examiners, supervisors, invigilators, security officers and drivers. The group had expected allowances soon after completing duties in late November 2025, but the delay has persisted despite Treasury’s approval of Sh3.1 billion in additional funding last September.
Ogamba explained that while Treasury released part of the arrears, the supplementary budget failed to allocate the full amount needed to clear pending bills.
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“It is this amount that’s supposed to be availed by the Treasury to enable the payment of examiners and other invigilators. We are negotiating with Treasury to avail these resources, but the figure was not allocated in the supplementary,” he told MPs.
Ogamba said discussions are ongoing to accommodate the deficit in the 2026–27 Budget Policy Statement, noting that the government’s takeover of exam funding in 2015, when parents stopped paying examination fees, has significantly increased financial pressure.
In the 2025–26 financial year, Treasury allocated KSh5.9 billion to KNEC for KCSE and national assessments under the Competency‑Based Education framework. Of this, Sh3 billion was earmarked for KCSE, KSh900 million for KPSEA, and KSh2 billion for KJSEA. However, the allocation fell far short of the KSh12.7 billion required, leaving critical gaps across exam components.
Breakdowns presented to MPs showed the scale of the shortfall: KCSE administration required Sh1.5 billion, but only KSh431 million has been paid, leaving a deficit of KSh1.1 billion.
KCSE marking required KSh711 million, with KSh319 million disbursed, leaving KSh391 million unpaid.
KPSEA required KSh191 million, with KSh165 million paid, leaving KSh26 million outstanding.
KJSEA required KSh644 million, with KSh168 million paid, leaving KSh475 million unpaid.
Supervision and invigilation cost KSh2.3 billion, yet none of the contracted teachers and examiners have been paid.
Support staff, including drivers and security personnel, are owed KSh437 million.
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Ogamba further revealed that school‑based assessments, which are continuous learner‑centred evaluations conducted by teachers, require KSh87.3 billion, a figure that received no allocation in the current budget. In addition, KSh1.037 billion remains unpaid from the 2024 examination cycle.
By Masaki Enock
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