THIKA — The quiet discipline of the Mary Hill Girls’ High School marking centre shattered on Sunday as over 800 examiners downed their tools, chanting slogans that echoed a familiar Kenyan grievance: work done, but payment delayed.

The standoff, which spilled into Monday morning, threatens to derail the critical final phase of the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) marking process. At the heart of the dispute is a modest but vital sum—a coordination allowance of KES 5,000 (approx. $38)—which examiners claim the government has withheld for three weeks, defying its own five-day payment policy.

The 'Uncelebrated Heroes' Revolt

While the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) projects an image of order, the scene on the ground tells a story of desperation. Examiners, who have been sequestered for weeks to grade the scripts of 996,078 candidates, describe the environment as a pressure cooker.

“We were told the money would hit our accounts five days after reporting on November 30,” said one senior examiner who requested anonymity to protect their job. “Three weeks later, we are borrowing airtime to call home. We are the uncelebrated heroes who work our fingers to the bone, yet this exercise has been rendered inhumane.”

The strike is not an isolated incident. Reports indicate that tension has rippled through other centres, with examiners for Physics and Agriculture allegedly exiting their stations without full clearance of their dues—a claim KNEC vehemently disputes.

KNEC 'Breaks Silence' with Denial

Facing a potential public relations disaster, KNEC CEO Dr. David Njengere moved quickly to control the narrative. In a statement released late Sunday, the Council dismissed the allegations of systemic non-payment as "misleading."

“We wish to clarify that all examiners who completed their marking and exited the centres have been fully paid,” the statement read. KNEC maintained that the KES 5,000 coordination fees—meant to cover travel, meals, and logistics—would be settled before any examiner leaves the centre.

However, this bureaucratic assurance clashes with the reality of the teachers' bank balances. For a Kenyan teacher earning a modest civil service salary, a delayed KES 5,000 allowance is not an inconvenience; it is a gap in the household budget that affects school fees and holiday preparations.

High Stakes for the Class of 2025

The timing could not be worse. With the marking exercise scheduled to conclude today, December 15, any prolongation of the strike risks pushing the release of results beyond the promised January 2026 window. The stakes are monumental:

• 996,078 Candidates: One of the largest cohorts in history is waiting for grades to determine their university placement.
• University Calendar: A delay in results creates a domino effect, stalling intake for the next academic year.
• Credibility: After recent efforts to curb exam cheating, a chaotic marking process undermines public trust in the certificate's integrity.

A System Under Strain

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba has previously praised the "smooth" administration of this year's exams, but the cracks in the financing model are visible. Earlier this year, KNEC ruled out any increase in allowances, citing budget constraints. Now, even the existing rates are becoming a flashpoint.

As the standoff continues, the examiners at Mary Hill remain adamant: no pay, no pen. For the parents waiting on the other side of those gates, the hope is that the government finds the cash before the ink runs dry on their children's future.