KNEC has not paid teachers who supervised and invigilated the 2024 KPSEA and KCSE exams. Teachers are frustrated since they expected to be paid soon after the release of results.
A KNEC official speaking anonymously said the main reason for the delay is missing teacher details which are required for payment processing.
KNEC’s Reason for Payment Delay
KNEC has sent messages to KPSEA centre managers to submit missing teacher attendance registers for payment processing.
The message read:
“Dear Centre Manager, KNEC has not received DULY SIGNED AND STAMPED attendance register for 2024 KPSEA. Please send a scanned copy to si@knec.ac.ke for processing of allowances of the contracted professionals who were attached to your centres.”
While the government has in the past faced budget constraints that affected exam payments, the KNEC official dismissed claims that teachers will have to wait until next year to get paid as was the case in 2023.
Who is Affected?
Each year KNEC contracts various professionals to administer national exams, including:
- Teachers (as Centre Managers, Supervisors and Invigilators)
- Drivers
- Security Personnel
KNEC does not pay teachers for invigilation and supervision services but provides transport reimbursement allowances.
Exam Supervision and Teacher Promotions
Participation in KNEC exam administration is now a factor in teacher promotions. In 2025, TSC awarded four (4) promotion points to teachers who invigilated, supervised or marked national exams.
2024 KNEC Payment Rates for Exam Officials
KNEC changed the payment structure after secondary school teachers protested low allowances.
Here are the new rates:
KPSEA (Grade 6 Assessment) Officials:
- Supervisors: Ksh 680 per day for 3 days → Ksh 2,040
- Invigilators: Ksh 550 per day for 3 days → Ksh 1,680
KCSE (Secondary School Exams) Officials:
- Supervisors: Ksh 680 per day for 16 days → Ksh 10,880
- Invigilators: Ksh 550 per day for 16 days → Ksh 8,800
Centre Managers (Principals/Heads of Schools)
- Paid Ksh 550 per day for both KPSEA and KCSE exams.
Teachers Want Higher Pay for KNEC Invigilation
Despite the recent increase in allowances, teachers’ unions are not satisfied with KNEC’s payment structure.
The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) has been demanding higher invigilation allowances. In a letter to Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogwang KUPPET Secretary-General Akello Misori proposed:
- Ksh3,000 per day for invigilators (up from Ksh400, a 750% increase)
- Ksh3,500 per day for supervisors (up from Ksh450, a 778% increase)
- Ksh4,500 per day for principals acting as centre managers
Misori said allowances are too little and not in line with government’s public service remuneration policy. He warned teachers may boycott KNEC contracts if their demands are not met.
Will Teachers Be Paid Soon?
Although KNEC is still collecting details of the missing teachers, no official date has been floated for the same. Just like in previous years, though, there might be delays to probably the next budget cycle unless it gets released ahead of that.
For now, teachers and other contracted professionals are advised to follow up with the respective centre managers to ensure that KNEC has all the required details necessary for processing the payment.
after all those 21 day’s of exam’s from morning you report to container collect exam’s then taken back exam’s to container and three times a day now no payment