Uncertainty hangs over preparations for the 2026 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations after the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) reaffirmed a directive barring its members from participating in Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) activities, citing unresolved grievances over examiners' pay and working conditions.
The union's stance comes just as candidates prepare for rehearsals beginning Friday, the traditional curtain-raiser to the national exams in which students are taken through examination procedures, instructions and rules ahead of sitting their papers. This year's sitting is the second-last under the 8-4-4 system.
KNEC's timetable shows oral and practical examinations set to start on Monday, October 19, covering subjects such as French, German, Kenyan Sign Language, music and Arabic. The main written papers are scheduled to run from November 2 to November 20.
With KUPPET yet to lift its directive, questions remain over whether the standoff will be settled before candidates sit the oral and practical papers on October 19.
KUPPET's National Governing Council, in a resolution issued after its meeting, faulted how KNEC had handled teachers' grievances and cautioned that the council risked disrupting the management of national examinations if the concerns were not resolved.
"We are asking our members to sit back and not to participate in any exams conducted by KNEC. And if they don't give any assurances to improve the examiners' terms and conditions of service, today we put KNEC on notice and it will not be business as usual in the year 2026. We shall ensure that we paralyse the examination management in the entire year 2026," KUPPET Secretary General Akelo Misori said.
At the heart of the dispute are the terms and conditions for teachers contracted to manage and mark national examinations, among them centre managers, supervisors, invigilators and examiners. Their rates are reviewed every four years, with the next review not due until next year.
Misori argued that the current rates failed to reflect the professional standing of teachers or the demands of examination duties.
"Even construction workers on site who are unskilled are paid at least Sh700 by the end of the day. But you realise that KNEC treats professionals as if they are such a category of workers," he said, describing the rates as a mockery of the teaching profession. He warned that teachers would no longer tolerate the same terms only to later complain of delayed payments and inadequate compensation.
KUPPET Deputy Secretary General Moses Nthurima echoed the warning, saying the examination process risked a crisis unless KNEC addressed examiners' concerns.
"We are telling our teachers to refrain from engaging in KNEC activities until they call us and discuss better terms for them," Nthurima said, accusing the council of subjecting examiners to poor working conditions.
He cited specific rates he said illustrated the problem: a paper marked at Sh55, a pocket allowance of Sh150 that has remained unchanged since 1990, and Sh600 paid to examination supervisors, which he said no longer reflected the work involved.
The grievances persist despite a recent disbursement meant to ease tension. On July 7, the National Treasury released Sh1.5 billion to clear outstanding balances owed to examiners for 2025, with Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba confirming two days later that KNEC had paid out the funds.
The payment followed months of delay that had earlier pushed teachers' unions toward threatening a boycott of this year's exams.
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