KCSE Examiners Down Tools Over Unpaid Allowances at Marking Centre

Marking of the 2024 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations has been disrupted after over 800 examiners withdrew their services citing delayed payment of coordination allowances.

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The examiners, assigned to mark English Paper 2 at Mary Hills Girls’ High School, staged demonstrations on Sunday demanding immediate payment of outstanding dues. The protest occurred three weeks into the national examination marking exercise, which commenced in mid-November.

According to sources at the marking centre, the examiners are owed coordination allowances totaling Ksh5,000 per person. The payments were reportedly due within five days of the marking commencement, but examiners claim they have yet to receive any compensation.

“The situation has become untenable. We cannot continue working without receiving what is rightfully ours,” said one examiner who requested anonymity. “We have families to support and expenses to meet.”

The examiners have vowed to continue their strike action until the government settles the outstanding allowances. The development threatens to delay the release of results, which the Ministry of Education has scheduled for January 2025.

The 2024 KCSE examination attracted 996,078 candidates, representing one of the largest cohorts in recent years. Marking activities are scheduled to conclude on Monday, December 15, leaving education authorities with limited time to resolve the dispute.

This disruption comes amid heightened scrutiny of the examination process. Earlier this month, the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) issued a public warning against fraudulent schemes targeting parents and students.

In a statement released on Wednesday, December 3, KNEC alerted the public to individuals falsely claiming affiliation with the council and soliciting money through WhatsApp groups and channels. These fraudsters have allegedly been promising to manipulate examination results for a fee.

“All answer scripts are anonymized throughout the examination process to safeguard candidates’ identities and maintain marking integrity,” KNEC stated, dismissing any possibility of result manipulation.

The council urged parents and students to disregard such scams and report suspicious activities to relevant authorities.

As the standoff continues, education stakeholders are calling for swift intervention to ensure timely completion of the marking exercise and prevent further delays in releasing results that will determine the academic future of nearly one million candidates.

The Ministry of Education has not yet issued an official statement regarding the examiners’ grievances or provided a timeline for resolving the payment dispute.

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