The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) struggling to meet the enormous demands of administering this year's national examinations amid a Sh7.2 billion funding shortfall.
The funding crisis has exposed the growing financial pressure on the council at a time when more than 3.6 million learners are undertaking national tests and competency-based assessments, with heavy rains, flooding, insecurity and examination malpractice adding to an already demanding exercise.
The situation has raised concerns among education stakeholders over whether the council has adequate resources to guarantee the integrity, security and smooth administration of examinations.
Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers chairman Omboko Milemba warned that the funding crisis could leave KNEC with difficult choices if the Treasury failed to release the required money.
"We are asking the Treasury and the Minister of Education to move with speed and release the budget for the Council because teachers are not ready to offer services for free," Milemba said.
Documents presented to the National Assembly Education Committee on May 13, 2026, by then Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok indicated that KNEC required Sh14.72 billion to administer national examinations and assessments against an estimated annual expenditure of Sh9.9 billion, leaving a deficit of approximately Sh4.82 billion.
The requirements included Sh3.92 billion for the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA), Sh9.496 billion for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), Sh1.16 billion for the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) and Sh144.69 million for stage-based and school-based assessments.
When last year's outstanding arrears of approximately Sh2.38 billion are factored in, the council's funding deficit rises to about Sh7.2 billion, an amount the Ministry of Education is seeking from the National Treasury.
For KCSE alone, 1,048,355 candidates are registered across more than 10,600 examination centres, marking the first time the candidature has crossed the one-million mark.
The increased numbers mean more resources are required to recruit and deploy examination personnel, transport and secure examination materials, supervise candidates, coordinate marking centres and maintain administrative operations across the country.
KUPPET Secretary General Akelo Misori questioned how the government expected KNEC to continue administering and marking examinations without providing sufficient resources.
"The National Examination Council is struggling with a very lean allocation with huge responsibilities. How do you expect the council to deliver an increasingly demanding national exercise with inadequate financial support," Misori said.
Teso South MP Mary Emaase questioned why examination financing had become an annual crisis despite the fact that the exercise is a predictable component of the country's education calendar.
"All of us know that every single year, exams are done and they are invigilated, supervised and marked. This has become a crisis every single year," she said.
The possibility of transferring examination costs to parents has particularly worried them, with National Parents Association chairman Silas Obuhatsa arguing that national examinations are a government responsibility and should not become an additional financial burden on households.
"KNEC hands are tied up. The council is struggling in silence without anyone to help them. The way they got funds for university lecturers, the same way the government should finance the deficit for exams," he said.
Obuhatsa noted that the growing candidature had increased the demand for invigilators, supervisors, security officers, transport, storage facilities, marking personnel and administrative support.
He warned that inadequate funding could undermine these essential operations, potentially creating gaps in supervision, examination security and timely payment of personnel.
The logistical challenges have been compounded by worsening weather conditions, with heavy rains causing flooding in Tana River, destroying roads making it difficult on accessibility of examination centres and the transportation of examination materials.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said contingency measures had been put in place, including positioning examination materials in vulnerable areas before roads became impassable.
Helicopters and alternative transport arrangements have also been placed on standby to reach areas cut off by floods and damaged infrastructure.
Insecurity has presented another challenge, forcing authorities to intervene in areas where the safety of candidates has been threatened. At least 220 candidates in Moyale were relocated after stray bullets hit Sessi Mixed Secondary School and Tana River County.
Meanwhile, the council is facing growing pressure to protect examination integrity following reports of impersonation, attempted cheating and suspected examination paper distribution syndicates.
To address these threats, KNEC has invested in technology and strengthened security procedures to monitor examination materials from storage to delivery and administration.
Among the measures are digital smart padlocks installed on examination storage containers and linked directly to the council's command centre.
The devices record the exact time containers are opened and closed, allowing officials to monitor access and identify irregularities.
The council has also decentralised storage facilities, establishing more than 653 examination storage centres nationally to bring materials closer to schools and minimise transportation risks.
Examination papers are packed separately for morning and afternoon sessions, with afternoon papers remaining sealed during morning collection. Materials are collected twice daily under strict schedules to prevent premature access.
Selected examination booklets also carry personalised candidate details and unique random identification numbers, with identification sections detached and handled separately to protect the integrity of marking.
These technological safeguards are reinforced by police officers, internal security personnel, education officials and multi-agency surveillance teams.
KNEC Chief Executive Officer Dr David Njengere said the council had strengthened surveillance and introduced tracking features that enable investigators to trace examination materials and identify individuals suspected of involvement in malpractice.
However, maintaining such sophisticated security systems, alongside the deployment of thousands of examination officials, requires sustained financial investment.
The funding crisis has also raised questions about the payment of examiners, particularly with Ogamba, however, attributed the financial constraints to inadequate budgetary allocations and delayed disbursement of funds by the National Treasury, insisting that the Ministry was not withholding money but was itself operating within limited resources.
"We have written to the National Treasury to seek an additional budget to address the foregoing deficit through the supplementary budget. We have also sought a disbursement to enable the council to adequately fund this year's examination and assessment processes," he said.
He argued that the funding gap was not necessarily a failure by the Ministry to release available money but a consequence of the Treasury providing less than the council's requirements.
"We do not get from the exchequer and that is where the deficit comes from. We normally request for the actual amount but what we get is not sufficient for the council to operate with. That is the perennial challenge we have had previously in KNEC," Ogamba said.
