KNEC Reveals How Much Examiners Will Earn For Marking 2026 KJSEA Exams
The 2026 Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) ended on Friday, October 30, and the focus has now moved from exam rooms to marking centres.
The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has now answered. Examiners will get Ksh 35 for each script they mark, a one-off basic payment of Ksh 1,500, and a coordination fee of Ksh 250 for every day of the exercise.
The script rate is where earnings will differ most. Since it depends on how much an examiner gets through, two teachers sitting at the same centre could go home with very different pay. The basic amount and the daily fee are fixed.
Marking is expected to take about two weeks. KNEC plans to finish the scripts this November and release results in December.
The council has not given a standard total, because the final figure depends on scripts marked. The estimates below assume the coordination fee is paid for all 14 days. If it covers only working days, or the exercise runs longer or shorter, the totals will shift.
| Scripts marked | Script pay | Fixed pay (basic + 14 days) | Estimated total |
| 300 | Ksh 10,500 | Ksh 5,000 | Ksh 15,500 |
| 500 | Ksh 17,500 | Ksh 5,000 | Ksh 22,500 |
| 1,000 | Ksh 35,000 | Ksh 5,000 | Ksh 40,000 |
Every extra 100 scripts add Ksh 3,500. An examiner who marks 1,000 scripts would take in Ksh 35,000 from scripts alone, and the fixed payments push that to about Ksh 40,000.
These amounts are before statutory deductions, which KNEC has not spelled out. Examiners should check their net pay once payment is processed.
For many, this money also covers an earlier cost. Teachers who went to KNEC’s residential training from August 16 to 20, 2026 paid a mandatory fee of Ksh 10,500 and showed proof of payment when they reported.
Venues included Machakos Academy, Machakos Girls High School, Machakos TTC, Maryhill Girls High School, Murang’a TTC, Kilimambogo TTC, St. Francis Girls High School, Mang’u High School, Sunshine Secondary School and St. George’s Secondary School. Chief examiners and subject specialists led the sessions and took trainees through the standard assessment rubrics.
Measured against that fee, the picture changes. An examiner who marks 1,000 scripts and earns about Ksh 40,000 would be left with roughly Ksh 29,500 once the training fee is recovered, before costs such as travel. One who marks just 300 scripts would earn about Ksh 10,500 from scripts, which only about covers the fee, before the basic and coordination payments are added.
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