National Treasury Cabinet Secretary (CS) John Mbadi has addressed concerns over delayed payment to Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) examiners contracted to oversee the 2025 national examinations.
Speaking during an interview on Ramogi TV on Wednesday, May 13, Mbadi noted that the Treasury already released all funds allocated to the Ministry of Education, insisting that no additional funds are available to pay teachers engaged by KNEC.
The CS stated that teachers seeking payment for examination duties should direct their concerns to the Ministry of Education, saying the Treasury had already fulfilled its obligation.
“Regarding the disbursement of funds meant for the national examination council, teachers should ask the Ministry of Education. We already disbursed the budget allocated to the Ministry of Education,” he noted.
“If it is inadequate to pay the KNEC contracting professionals, then there is no additional allocation for it since we already disbursed what Parliament approved for the education sector.”
Mbadi Says Treasury Released All Education Funds, Rules Out Extra Allocation for KNEC Examiners Payment
This comes after Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok, while speaking in Uasin Gishu on May 5, acknowledged the payment delays, noting that the ministry is working with the National Treasury to fast-track payments “soon.”
He said the matter had been escalated to President William Ruto, who issued further directives to the National Treasury, and that teachers will be paid before the end of May.
“I went to the State House to request the support of President William Ruto on teachers’ payments. He called the Treasury, directing them to provide money for the payment of teachers as soon as possible. I want to assure teachers that they will be paid in the next few weeks, before the end of this month,” said Bitok.
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Similarly, the Ministry of Education confirmed in February that it had formally requested the National Treasury to release the required funds.
In a statement issued on February 12, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba stated that the delays in the disbursement of allowances have arisen from budgetary and cash-flow constraints currently affecting the release of funds.
“The ministry, in collaboration with the National Treasury, is actively working to resolve the matter and expedite the release of the requisite funds within the shortest time possible,” he said.
Education Budget Allocation
The education sector received the lion’s share of the national budget, with Ksh 702.7 billion allocated for the 2025/26 financial year.
This included Ksh 5.9 billion for the administration of national examinations and assessments.
In May last year, the National Assembly approved Ksh 5.9 billion for KNEC, short of the required Ksh 12.58 billion, leaving a significant funding gap.
To bridge the deficit, the National Treasury later provided an additional Ksh3.1 billion.
Also Read: KNEC Sets New Directives for Principals on Grade 10 Assessment Centres
Over 107,000 Personnel Engaged as 45,000 Examiners Await Ksh2.7 Billion Payments
A total of 107,447 personnel supported the administration of the 2025 national examinations, including examiners. Others involved were officials from the Ministry of Education and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), as well as security officers, supervisors, invigilators, and centre managers.
About 45,000 examiners handling KCSE and KJSEA are owed about Ksh2.7 billion, with the delays now stretching into May.
Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations, KNEC contracted 22,247 security officers, 54,782 invigilators, 12,126 supervisors, and 10,765 centre managers.
In addition, 2,692 drivers were engaged to support logistics, including the transportation of examination materials and personnel, especially in remote, hard-to-reach examination centres.
For the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) and the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA), security personnel were primarily assigned to escort examination materials and guard containers in identified high-risk areas, rather than being stationed at every centre.
The council enlisted 125,492 invigilators, 26,479 supervisors, and 24,213 centre managers for KPSEA and KJSEA.
