The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) has warned that teachers may boycott the marking of this year’s national examinations unless the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) signs a binding agreement on payment.
KUPPET National chairman Omboko Milemba issued the ultimatum during a breakfast show on a local radio station, accusing KNEC of underpaying examiners and delaying payments for months. He revealed that some examiners who marked last year’s papers are yet to receive their full dues. “KNEC is underpaying examiners; sometimes it pays even Sh30 per script. The examiners are living in poor conditions and are not paid long after they have finished. Could you imagine that the examiners did marking in November-October last year? To date, they have not been paid,” Milemba said.
KNEC procures marking services through a structured process involving recruitment, training, and contracting of qualified teachers and specialists. Each examiner signs a contract outlining terms of engagement, with strict confidentiality rules enforced, including an oath of secrecy before marking begins. Security measures such as CCTV surveillance and secure transportation of scripts are standard practice, with marking centres traditionally concentrated around Nairobi.
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Last year, a section of KCSE examiners downed their tools three weeks into the exercise, citing unpaid allowances. The boycott disrupted the marking period, which ran from November 24 to December 15, as examiners demanded their Sh5,000 coordination allowance.
Milemba said this year, the union will advise teachers not to report for marking until KNEC commits to a clear payment plan. He insisted that teachers must build resilience in fighting for their rights. “I’m encouraging them that coming this year, when KNEC calls our teachers to go and mark, and we tell them ‘don’t go and mark’, they must not go,” he said.
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The union is pushing for KNEC to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on examiner payments, arguing that only a binding agreement will guarantee fairness. “Sometimes you have to carry your own twigs to be listened to,” Milemba added,
By Masaki Enock
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