Teachers who supervised and invigilated national examinations in 2025 are expected to receive long-overdue payments after Parliament approved Sh1.5 billion in the Second Supplementary Budget.
The allocation, endorsed by MPs on Thursday as they reviewed the supplementary estimates, is expected to settle the pending dues.
The funds are owed to teachers who took part in administering the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) examinations.
The decision brings major relief to teachers who have complained for months about delayed payments despite completing examination duties across the country.
The hold-up in clearing examination-related claims had raised concern among teachers and their unions, with the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) warning it could mobilise teachers to down tools and disrupt learning.
Before the mini-budget was passed, Budget and Appropriations Committee chairperson Sam Atandi said Supplementary Estimates II for the 2025-26 financial year had reserved Sh1.5 billion for the teachers.
‘In these supplementary estimates, we have Sh1.5 billion, which will be used to settle the arrears of teachers who supported the invigilation process while our students were sitting for exams,’ he said.
National Treasury CS John Mbadi had also assured teachers that the money would be disbursed before the end of the current financial year.
Mbadi gave the commitment during a meeting with Kuppet members in Homa Bay on May 31.
On Thursday, Mbadi said the payment was crucial to preventing a crisis in the education sector as preparations for this year’s national examinations continue.
‘Teachers who marked the exams had not been paid Sh1.5 billion. After consulting with the President, we agreed that the money should be provided and paid before the end of the financial year,’ Mbadi said.
‘That debt will now be settled.’
Parliament’s approval of the Sh1.5 billion allocation is expected to allow the Ministry of Education and examination agencies to start processing the payments, with teachers likely to begin receiving the money next week.
The move is expected to reduce frustration among affected teachers and restore confidence ahead of this year’s national examinations, where teachers play a key role in safeguarding the credibility and integrity of the assessment process.
Last month, Kuppet directed its members to boycott invigilation and marking duties for the 2026 national examinations.
The union’s national chairperson Omboko Milemba issued the directive on May 22, saying teachers would no longer work without being paid.
‘Teachers have rendered their services, and it is a violation of labour rights to keep them waiting for over a year for their pay,’ he said.
‘Until a clear consensus is reached and the money is in their accounts, there will be no invigilation or marking of this year’s exams.’