Contracted professionals engaged by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) say they are waiting with bated breath for their long-overdue allowances, days after the National Treasury announced it had released funds to clear the payments. The group, mostly teachers who administered and marked the 2024/2025 Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), Kenya Junior Secondary Education Assessment (KJSEA), and KCSE/KCPE exams, say anxiety is turning to anger as the money is yet to reflect in their accounts.
“We’ve Seen the Memo, But Not the Money”
The Treasury’s disbursement to KNEC was meant to unlock payments for thousands of invigilators, supervisors, examiners, and centre managers contracted during the national assessment and exam season. While KNEC has not issued a detailed payment schedule, sources within the council indicate that processing is underway and will be done in batches.
For the teachers on the ground, however, the wait has stretched over five months for some cadres, piling pressure on household budgets already strained by January school reopening costs. “We delivered for the country under tough conditions. The least we expect is timely pay,” said a teacher from Bungoma County who oversaw KJSEA in a day school. “Now we’re refreshing our M-Pesa balances every hour.”
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Mixed Reactions: Relief, Doubt, and Dark Humor
The announcement of the Treasury release has triggered mixed reactions in KNEC’s vast pool of contracted staff. Some have welcomed the news with cautious optimism, circulating screenshots of internal circulars and urging colleagues to be patient. Others remain skeptical, citing similar promises in previous exam cycles that ended in staggered payments or unexplained deductions.
The frustration has spilled onto social media, where teachers are venting through memes, parables, and personal anecdotes. In one viral post that captured the mood, a contracted examiner wrote that he dreamt of being chased by a _sukuma_ creditor demanding KSh 250, running toward Lake Victoria in desperation. In the dream, he said, the moment he mentioned “KNEC” to the woman, she fled. “What is the meaning of this dream?” he posed to colleagues online.[kale]
The replies were instant and telling. Some interpreted it as a sign that even debtors fear KNEC’s name because of its reputation for delayed payments. Others said it reflected the psychological toll of waiting: “That’s your brain processing stress. KNEC has become both the problem and the excuse,” one teacher commented. Another added, “The dream means only KNEC can scare away your debts, but only when it actually pays.”
The Human Cost of Delayed Allowances
Beyond the humor lies a stark reality. Most contracted professionals are classroom teachers who depend on KNEC allowances to offset loans taken during the exam season, pay school fees for their own children, or service small businesses. Financial institutions, landlords, and even local shopkeepers are familiar with the “KNEC payment cycle,” often advancing credit on the strength of a calling letter.
“I took a salary advance to travel to my marking centre in Nairobi,” said a KPSEA examiner from Kimilili. “I cleared scripts for three weeks, went home, and I’m still servicing that loan. My bank doesn’t understand ‘Treasury has released’.”
Union officials have been fielding calls from members seeking clarity. While KNEC is not the direct employer of teachers, the Teachers Service Commission and unions have previously lobbied for structured engagement on payment timelines, arguing that national exams cannot run without the goodwill of teachers.
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What Happens Next
KNEC has in past years processed payments through the banks listed by contracted staff during registration, with alerts sent via SMS once funds are dispatched. The council has not indicated whether the current batch will cover all cadres at once or prioritize specific assessments. Teachers who worked during KPSEA and KJSEA, both new under the Competency Based Curriculum, are particularly anxious, as this is the first full cycle of payment for the junior school assessments.
Financial analysts note that once Treasury releases funds to a state agency, internal verification, payroll alignment, and banking processes can still take days or weeks depending on the volume of payees. For KNEC, the list runs into tens of thousands.
Calls for a Permanent Solution
The recurring delays have revived calls for KNEC to ring-fence exam administration funds and adopt a fixed payment calendar tied to the school calendar. “We cannot have a national exercise every year and then debate payments every year,” said an education sector stakeholder. “Predictability will protect the integrity of the exams.”
As the payment system whirs into motion, contracted teachers are left doing what they have done for months: waiting. Some with hope, others with resignation, and a few with dreams about sukuma creditors disappearing at the mention of
For now, the lake is still far, the creditor still unpaid, and the M-Pesa balance unchanged.
By Kimtai Cherongis
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