The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) is racing against time to prepare for the country's largest-ever examination exercise while grappling with a funding gap expected to hit Sh6.71 billion.
As costs continue to climb, the examinations body has unveiled plans to gradually replace printed examination papers with digital assessments in an effort to reduce spending and sustain the national examination system.
Budget documents presented to the National Assembly Education Committee show KNEC will require about Sh16.6 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.
The council, however, has been allocated only Sh9.9 billion in the current financial year, leaving it with a funding deficit of Sh6.71 billion.
Basic Education Principal Secretary John Ololtua told lawmakers that the Ministry of Education will continue engaging Parliament to secure more resources for KNEC, saying adequate and timely funding remains critical for the successful administration of 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," Ololtua told the committee chaired by Tinderet MP Julius Melly.
The ministry says the financial pressure has been driven by the growing number of learners joining the Competency-Based Education system, which has steadily pushed up the cost of conducting national examinations.
According to the report, KNEC intends to gradually introduce paperless examinations to reduce the recurring costs of printing, packaging, transporting and securing examination materials.
Printing examination papers remains one of the council's largest expenditure items, while transport and security continue to consume a large share of the examinations budget each year.
Officials believe digital assessments will lower operational costs while modernising the country's examination system over time.
The report also shows that KNEC is carrying forward pending bills worth Sh2.57 billion from the previous financial year. The ministry says the amount will be settled once funds become available, adding to the council's financial obligations.
Further budget documents indicate that the State Department for Basic Education had initially sought Sh12.7 billion for examinations and invigilation during the financial year ending June 2026 but received only Sh5.9 billion.
The allocation included Sh3 billion for KCSE, Sh900 million for KPSEA and Sh2 billion for KJSEA, while School-Based Assessments under the CBE curriculum did not receive any allocation.
Part of the funds was also used to settle Sh1.03 billion in pending bills arising from the 2024 national examinations and assessments.
During the financial year, KNEC later received an additional Sh3.1 billion through Supplementary Budget I under Article 223 of the Constitution before Parliament approved another Sh1.5 billion under Supplementary Budget II, raising total funding to Sh10.5 billion.
Despite the additional allocation, the council is still carrying forward Sh2.57 billion in pending bills into the current financial year, leaving limited resources for this year's examination exercise.
The funding challenges have affected payments to thousands of professionals engaged during national examinations.
Delayed disbursement of funds in recent years has seen examiners, invigilators, centre managers, security officers, drivers and other contracted personnel wait months before receiving their payments.
However, KNEC told lawmakers it had received Sh4.9 billion from the National Treasury to clear outstanding payments for those who participated in the 2025 national examinations and assessments.
The council said the money would be used to pay invigilators, centre managers, security personnel, drivers and other contracted professionals by Friday, bringing to an end months of uncertainty that had raised concerns ahead of this year's examinations.
"We received Sh4.9 billion today (Tuesday), and by Friday we will have paid all invigilators, centre managers, security personnel, drivers and any other contracted professionals for the 2025 examinations and assessments," KNEC Chief Executive David Njengere told the committee.
The latest payment follows another Treasury release of Sh1.5 billion about a month ago that enabled the Ministry of Education to pay examiners who marked the 2025 national examinations after an eight-month wait.
The delayed payments had triggered protests from teachers' unions, which threatened to advise members against attending KNEC training sessions and participating in this year's examination exercise until all outstanding dues were settled.
The unions argued that the delays had discouraged teachers from taking up examination duties, noting that payments had previously been processed soon after the release of examination results.
Even as the council grapples with the financial constraints, preparations for this year's examinations are at an advanced stage.
KNEC says 3,634,846 learners have registered for the national examinations and assessments, the highest number ever.
The candidates comprise 1,380,463 learners registered for the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), 1,206,028 for the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) and 1,048,355 candidates for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).
The council has completed the verification and validation of candidates' registration details ahead of the secure printing and distribution of examination materials to centres across the country.
KNEC will also conduct assessments for learners with severe and profound disabilities under the Stage-Based Curriculum through the Kenya Intermediate Level Education Assessment (KILEA) and the Kenya Pre-vocational Level Education Assessment (KPLEA).
Last year, the council deployed 137,110 invigilators working alongside 32,901 centre managers during the KPSEA and KJSEA examinations, while 54,782 invigilators and 10,754 centre managers supervised the KCSE examination.
As the committee considered the ministry's budget proposals, lawmakers also questioned the credibility of assessments conducted under the Competency-Based Education system.
Melly sought clarification on whether school-based assessments are being administered uniformly across the country.
"How are school-based exams standardised? How credible are they?" Melly asked.
He also questioned the ministry's admission policy, saying schools should not enrol learners beyond their capacity.
"What’s your policy on admission and enrolment so that no one wakes up and gives haphazard numbers?" he posed.
Melly further sought the ministry's position on the use of mobile phones in schools.
"What’s the ministry doing on the use of phones?" he asked.
The committee also demanded answers on how much government capitation reaches schools and whether the ministry is aware that some parents continue paying levies in Junior School despite government funding.