- Kuppet officials say markers are paid KSh 55 per script and supervisors KSh 600 — rates they call wholly inadequate
- Legislators have raised the matter in parliament, with one MP revealing teachers spend personal money to secure lodging near exam centres
- Kuppet warns teachers may withdraw entirely from KNEC activities without a formal agreement on revised pay rates
Members of Parliament have thrown their weight behind demands by the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) for better pay for teachers and officials involved in running national examinations, as the union intensifies threats of a full boycott of exam activities.
Msambweni MP Feisal Bader told parliament that the current allowances paid to exam supervisors, security officers and other personnel are grossly out of step with the cost of living and the weight of responsibility the work demands. He said some supervisors are forced to spend their own money on temporary accommodation near collection points to ensure they receive exam papers on time, while others incur additional costs when assigned to supervise multiple centres.
"These professionals serve as centre managers, exam supervisors and security officers, ensuring examinations run smoothly. Yet pay rates have not changed despite the rising cost of living," Bader said.
Kuppet Deputy Secretary General Moses Nthurima was equally direct, stating that the union's grievance goes beyond delayed disbursements and cuts to the actual amounts being paid. He disclosed that exam markers receive KSh 55 per script, with a daily subsistence allowance of KSh 150 that has reportedly not been revised since 1990. Supervisors, he added, are paid KSh 600 per session.
Nthurima said the union had engaged the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) over the matter, but received no commitment on figures. "We spoke to KNEC, but they only said funds had been set aside without mentioning the amount. Paying on time is no longer the bigger issue; the problem is the rate of payment," he said.
He warned that without a formal agreement on daily rates or per-script pay, teachers could continue distancing themselves from KNEC-related duties.
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The dispute is not a recent one. In February 2025, Emuhaya MP Omboko Milemba called on the Parliamentary Education Committee to account for delays in settling payments to teachers who supervised the 2024 national examinations. Endebess MP Robert Pukose backed that call.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
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