The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has announced that it is facing funding challenges as it prepares to administer the 2026 national examinations and assessments to 3.5 million learners.
Appearing before the National Assembly’s Education Committee on August 4, Basic Education Principal Secretary John Ololtuaa said the Ministry of Education would continue seeking additional resources to enable KNEC to effectively administer national examinations and assessments.
“We shall keep coming back to you for additional resources to enable the council to effectively and efficiently discharge its mandate, which depends substantially on the adequacy and timeliness of funding for examinations and assessments,” Ololtuaa told the committee.
According to the documents submitted to the Committee, it showed that the council requires KSh16.6 billion to conduct this year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) and school-based assessments under the Competency Based Education (CBE) curriculum.
However, KNEC has been allocated KSh9.9 billion in the current financial year, leaving a funding gap of KSh6.7 billion.
KNEC to Pay Invigilators
Additionally, KNEC announced it had received KSh4.9 billion from the National Treasury to settle delayed payments owed to invigilators, centre managers, security personnel, drivers and other professionals contracted to administer the 2025 national examinations and assessments.
KNEC Chief Executive David Njengere told the committee the payments would be completed by Friday, August 7, more than eight months after last year’s examinations were administered.
The Treasury’s disbursement followed an earlier release of KSh1.5 billion, which enabled the council to clear outstanding payments to examiners who marked the 2025 national examinations.
When Will Exams Be Administered
The national examinations and assessments for 2026 will be conducted between October and November, with millions of learners expected to sit the tests across the country.
Grade 9 learners under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) will sit the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) from October 26 to October 30, 2026.
Candidates taking the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) will sit their examinations between October 26 and October 28, while the Kenya Intermediate Level Education Assessment (KILEA) is scheduled for October 26 to October 29.
Form Four candidates will begin the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations on November 2, with the examination period ending on November 20, 2026.
The examination period follows the end of the third school term, which runs from August 24 to October 23, 2026, before schools break for the December holiday.
School Capitation
The government has this year disbursed KSh67.6 billion in capitation to public schools in two tranches, marking a return to timely funding after years of delays.
In January, the National Treasury released KSh44.2 billion ahead of the opening of the first term, followed by a further KSh23.4 billion on April 22 to support second-term learning.
The capitation was allocated to fund the Free Primary Education, Junior School and Senior School programmes in public schools across the country, marking the first time in recent years that schools received the funds on schedule.
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