Kenya’s Parliament backs higher pay for exam invigilators — Nation Kenya

In Kenya, lawmakers supported a demand to review the pay of invigilators, guards and teachers involved in conducting national examinations and assessments. At the same time, the Kuppet union has not withdrawn its call for members not to take part in examination-related work until the KNEC Council resolves the issue of remuneration.

MP’s call

As Nation Kenya reports, Msambweni MP Feisal Bader told parliament that the current rates do not correspond to the volume of work and responsibility borne by staff. According to him, heads of examination centres, invigilators and guards ensure the security of materials and the proper conduct of examinations, but their pay has not increased despite the rising cost of living.

Bader also noted that low remuneration forces heads of centres to temporarily rent accommodation near examination-material collection points in order to collect them on time. Invigilators, he said, also incur additional costs due to supervising several examinations at designated centres.

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Union’s position

Kuppet Deputy Secretary-General Moses Nthurima insists that KNEC must conclude a formal agreement with teachers’ representatives on rates for different types of examination work. He said that promises to pay the money on time do not resolve the main problem — the amount of remuneration.

According to Nthurima, invigilators receive Sh600 each, while other payments for examination duties also do not correspond to the work performed. He cited Sh55 for marking one examination paper and daily allowances of Sh150, which, he said, have not changed since 1990. The union believes that teachers should receive pay commensurate with their qualifications and responsibilities.

The dispute over payments has been ongoing for more than one year. In February 2025, lawmakers raised the issue of delayed payments to teachers who conducted the 2024 national examinations. On July 7, the National Treasury allocated Sh1.5 billion to clear the arrears, and two days later Education Minister Julius Ogamba said that KNEC had transferred the money to examiners’ accounts. However, these payments did not end the dispute over the level of remuneration.