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Tag: KNEC

  • KPSEA and KJSEA exams begin

    KPSEA and KJSEA exams begin

    The Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) and the inaugural Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) have begun countrywide.

    A total of 1,298,089 Grade 6 learners undertaking the KPSEA are set to transition to Junior Secondary School (JSS), while 1,130,669 KJSEA candidates in Grade 9—the first cohort under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system—will join senior school.

    The Principal Secretary for Basic Education, Prof. Julius Bitok, Monday morning at 6.45am, presided over the official opening of the container with the examination papers at Olympic Primary School, Kibra.

    “As a ministry, we have done our best to ensure that everything is ready and all examinations have been prepared. We don’t expect anything short of professional administration of KPSEA, KJSEA and KCSE”, he assured.

    Other government officials also witnessed the distribution countrywide. The two assessments that will end on October 29 are running concurrently with the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations, which have entered their second week.

    The special needs learners will also undertake the Kenya Intermediate Level Education Assessment.

    Meanwhile, the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has issued a set of strict guidelines for the 2025 national exams.  In a statement, KNEC reminded all field officers of key protocols governing the administration of the national examinations.

    Among the directives, containers storing examination materials will be opened at 6:00 am for KPSEA and KJSEA, and at 7:00 am for KCSE.

    All centre managers must have an approved list of authorised personnel present, each of whom must carry a national identification card for verification.

    KNEC Chief Executive Officer, David Njengere, said that over 3.4 million candidates are expected to sit for the three national examinations this year.

    He expressed confidence in the council’s preparedness, assuring that all logistical and security systems are in place for a smooth and credible exercise.

    Additional reporting by Wangari Kanyong0

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Kenya to take part in global PISA education assessment for the first time

    Kenya to take part in global PISA education assessment for the first time

    Kenya is set to participate for the first time in the prestigious Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has announced.

    The international assessment, scheduled for September 2025, will evaluate how 15 to 16-year-old students apply their knowledge in Science, Reading, and Mathematics to solve real-life problems focusing on practical understanding rather than memorisation.

    PISA is coordinated by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and currently includes over 90 countries.

    According to KNEC, Kenya’s debut aligns with ongoing efforts to strengthen the Competency-Based Education (CBE) to ensure Kenyan learners are globally competitive.

    “PISA offers a unique opportunity to compare our learners’ outcomes with international benchmarks. The data will help guide policy decisions, curriculum reforms, teacher training, and resource allocation,” KNEC stated.

    Only a sample of schools and students will be selected to take part in the assessment, but the results are expected to influence reforms across the entire education system.

    KNEC has called on all stakeholders including school leaders, teachers, parents, and communities to support the initiative.

    “Kenya is ready. Our learners are capable. Let’s support them!” the exams body urged.

  • KNEC announces training for KJSEA examiners

    KNEC announces training for KJSEA examiners

    The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has announced the training of examiners for the upcoming Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) set to take place in March and April 2025.

    The training seeks to equip teachers with the necessary skills to evaluate students across various subjects.

    In a notice, KNEC stated that teachers specialising in English, Kiswahili, Mathematics, Kenyan Sign Language (KSL), Integrated Science Practical, and Biology are eligible to apply.

    Shortlisted applicants will be required to pay a training fee of Ksh10,500 with payment instructions sent via SMS and the application portal.

    The training will be conducted in two phases, an online session followed by a physical residential session at a venue to be communicated later.

    “Shortlisted trainees will be directed on how to access the online training materials. The venue for the residential training will be communicated to the qualified trainees later, where the exercise will be strictly residential,” KNEC stated.

    Teachers who successfully complete the training will be enlisted to mark KJSEA assessments based on personnel needs for each subject.

  • High Court suspends registration for July KCSE exams

    High Court suspends registration for July KCSE exams

    The High Court has suspended the registration of candidates for the newly introduced mid-year Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam.

    Lady Justice Teresa Odera Achieng issued conservatory orders barring the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) from proceeding with the registration process until the case is heard and determined.

    The decision follows a petition by a Nakuru-based doctor Magare Gikenyi challenging the legality of the new exam schedule, arguing it was rushed and lacked public participation.

    “I hereby proceed to issue conservatory orders in terms of the application to preserve the subject matter pending inter partes hearing,” ruled Justice Achieng.

    In his petition, Dr. Gikenyi argued that the new schedule creates an imbalance, as candidates sitting the exam in July have less preparation time than those taking it in November.

    He pointed out that the distinction is unjustifiable and violates Article 27 of the Constitution, alongside Articles 24, 10, 73, and 75.

    The court directed KNEC and its CEO Dr. David Njengere, to file their responses within seven days of being served.

    The matter will be mentioned on February 12, 2025 for further directions.

  • Candidates stream to Kiambu County education office to register for KCSE retake

    Candidates stream to Kiambu County education office to register for KCSE retake

    Kiambu county education office has received about 150 names of candidates wishing to re-sit the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams scheduled for July 2025.

    The exams which are organized by The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) are aimed at individuals who missed their national exams or wish to retake them to improve their grades.

    Speaking on Tuesday Consolata Wanjiru the Kiambu Sub-County Director of Education urged the public to seize the opportunity, noting that the final KCSE exams under the 8-4-4 curriculum will be administered in 2027.

    “We started to receive names for registration portal for the July series on Monday, January 27, we so far have about 150 names and as provided by the government we will close on Friday, February 21, 2025, and there will be no provision for late registration of candidates once the portal is closed,” said Wanjiru .

    She additionally urged any candidate wishing to repeat (full repeaters or partial repeaters) to visit the Kiambu county education office before the closing date to register, regardless of their age or the year, they sat for their KCSE examination.

    “You will be required to pay a registration fee of only Sh7,200 through E-Citizen, as per the details provided in the KNEC registration platform, the money will therefore be used to secure and clean the examination rooms at Kiambu township primary school where the exams for the whole county will be conducted,” added Wanjiru.

    Wanjiru cited that for the next three years, individuals dissatisfied with their KCSE performance or those who registered but did not sit for the exams will have an opportunity to improve their grades before the national test is phased out.

    The KNEC official further assures that the government plans to ensure the results of these exams are processed promptly to allow successful candidates to join universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions in September, alongside their peers who sat the end-year exams.

    “KCSE examination certificates will be issued to candidates who repeat seven subjects or more, while those who repeated less than seven subjects will be issued with a result slip for the subjects, as per the existing regulations for the KCSE examination,”.

    This comes as a reprieve to over 840 candidates whose results were nullified after investigations confirmed their involvement in malpractices during the 2024 KCSE exams.

  • We will deliver credible KCSE exams-KNEC

    We will deliver credible KCSE exams-KNEC

    The Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) has implemented various measures to ensure the delivery of credible national exams.

    KNEC CEO David Njengere has assured that officers tasked with overseeing the ongoing examinations are under strict instructions to prevent any malpractice in the administration of the exams.

    Speaking after he led the exercise on the distribution of exam papers from a container at Murang’a East, Njengere asked invigilators, supervisors and centre managers to follow laid down regulations that will uphold the integrity of the national exams.

    The CEO further appealed to center managers to actively monitor that gates to schools remain open until exams are done to ensure a streamlined administration and credibility.

    “As soon as the vehicle carrying the examination material enters the school compound, that gate must remain open. This will allow officers monitoring the exams to easily access the exam centres to check if there are any malpractices,” he said.

     Among other rules set out by the council is to have all the mobile phones of the people in the examination centres kept under lock and key until the exam session is over.

    “We want to emphasize that the rules are straightforward this year. All phones at examination centers will be kept under lock and key by supervisors. Compliance with these measures across the country will help us secure the exams,” he stated.

    Njengere also revealed that two cases of attempted impersonation were reported on Monday, the first day of the exams.

    He noted that both suspects were apprehended and are currently in custody as officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations pursue the cases.

     “One was arrested in Nairobi and the other in Kilifi County. The two will be charged before court. We are vigilant across the country and anyone planning to engage in malpractice, they can be sure we will pursue and apprehend them,” he added.

    Meanwhile, the CEO has reiterated that supervisors and invigilators overseeing the ongoing national examinations will continue to receive the same rates of stipend as that of last year, despite calls from the teacher unions for a pay increase.

    He explained that current budget constraints prevent any increase in pay for invigilators this year saying that KNEC had already raised the rates for supervisors and invigilators last year after a five-year gap, and confirmed that these adjusted rates would remain in place for the current exams.

     “We appreciate the noble work being done by our teachers in manning the national exams but for the time being will stick to the rates increased last year because the budget does not allow us to do any adjustments,” Njengere said.

    Teachers through their unions have been agitating for increased allowances to man the exam claiming that inadequate compensation undermines Kenya’s standards for fair labour practices and adversely affects the morale of teachers, ultimately threatening the credibility of national examination.

  • KCSE exams kick off today

    KCSE exams kick off today

    The 2024 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams have begun with 965,501 candidates participating across 10,755 centres up from 903,138 candidates in 2023.

    The exams will begin with practical and oral assessments in elective subjects, including French, German, Kenyan Sign Language, and music.

    According to the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC), this year’s KCSE exams will run from October 22 to November 22.

    To facilitate the distribution of exam materials, KNEC has added 41 new distribution centres, bringing the total to 617.

    KNEC CEO David Njeng’ere confirmed that additional containers have been installed for the collection of exam papers twice a day.

    Other than the KCSE, KNEC will administer the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) between October 28 and November 1.

    The assessment is part of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) with 1,303,913 seating candidates across 35,573 centres.

  • KNEC addresses discrepancies in KCPE results

    KNEC addresses discrepancies in KCPE results

    The Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) has come out to address discrepancies reported by some candidates in the just-released 2023 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) results.

    In a statement, KNEC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. David Njengere Saturday noted that the exam body had received appeals over some errors in results obtained through the shortcode 40054 that was provided by the Ministry of Education.

    The council said it was brought to the attention of KNEC that results for some candidates had a misalignment of the marks and grades in Kiswahili as they were placed in the Kenyan Sign Language.

    Dr. Njengere said there were also cases where the grades in Science and Social Studies and Religious Education were truncated incorrectly and were missing the plus (+) and minus (-) signs as expected.

    Dr. Njengere explained, that the errors only affected SMS results as the results in the KNEC portal are accurate.

    He however assured the candidates that the council has since raised the issue with the SMS service provider and errors in the text messages were fixed promptly.

    “The error affected only the SMS results due to configuration issues, as the results in the KNEC portal are accurate. KNEC notified the SMS service provider and the error in the text messages was resolved immediately” he said.

    The CEO said further KNEC received queries from candidates with low marks in some of the subjects, mainly in English and Kiswahili. KNEC has reviewed all the appeals and found that there were 133 candidates affected.

    On alleged examination malpractices, after candidates in one of the schools scored similar marks in science, KNEC said “KNEC has studied the KCPE examination results for a school that was widely circulated on social media forums indicating all the candidates in the school attained an identical mark of 75 in Science. KNEC has reviewed the results for the school and all the reports that were received from the examination centres and anonymous letters and has not found any indication that the school was involved in examination malpractices”.

    Dr. Njengere further explained that Science is a multiple-choice question paper, thus making it possible for the candidates to get identical marks.

    “Though this may be assumed to be an examination irregularity, it is not adequate evidence for KNEC to sanction the results for candidates without a supporting report that cheating happened during the administration of the examination” he added.

    Candidates have been advised to visit their schools and collect the official provisional results slips and raise any query for review of their results, if any, within the stipulated 30-day period.

     

     

  • KNEC set to administer special KCPE exams in January 2024

    KNEC set to administer special KCPE exams in January 2024

    At least 9,354 students who failed to register for the 2023 KCPE exams will have an opportunity to sit for a special examination in January 2024, Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has said.

    Machogu spoke on Thursday at Mitihani House in Nairobi during the release of KCPE 2023 results.

    The CS said the Ministry of Education will conduct a thorough mapping of those who failed to sit for the exams as the country fully transitions to the country Competency Based Curriculum (CBC).

    According to the Kenya National Examinations Council CEO David Njeng’ere, over 26, 316, 037 candidates have sat for KCPE exams since 1985.

    “This year’s results will be the last of the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) Examination, under the 8-4-4 system. 39 cohorts have sat these exams since inception in 1985, with two major reviews being made on the assessment tests used,” said Njeng’ere.

    He further indicated that from 2005 to 2008 KCPE was offered to 103,779 non-citizens including South Sudan nationals.

    “The candidature has been diverse, with candidates of refugee status and other non-citizens within Kenya sitting the examination,” he stated.

  • Beware of fake KCSE papers circulating online, KNEC warns

    Beware of fake KCSE papers circulating online, KNEC warns

    The Kenya national Examinations Council (KNEC) has raised alarm over fake Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam papers being circulated in social media platforms.

    KNEC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. David Njengere has confirmed that the examination papers being circulated on social media platforms are not genuine and are only meant to deceive those sitting for KCSE.

    He said the new guidelines that were put in place are working well, saying this year KNEC is determined to conduct credible results.

    “Students have studied for the last four years, so I urge them to ignore those papers being circulated in various social media channels. The papers are fake.

    “The new directive of picking exam papers from containers twice a day is working very smoothly and is helping to prevent early exposure of examination papers. Those monitoring the exams are also doing a great job,” said Njengere when he oversaw the distribution of examination papers from a container in Murang’a East Sub County, Monday.

    He revealed that so far, 46 cases of malpractice have been reported in the country, saying the number has no significance to taint the integrity of the exam.

    Marking of the exams, Njengere noted, will be thorough to pick out any form of malpractice that could have happened during the exams.

    “I assure candidates that the marking will be fair but quite strict to identify any form of malpractice that could have happened. This is being done to ensure credibility of the national examinations and ensure learners attain genuine grades,” he observed.

    Meanwhile, the CEO said various measures have been employed to ensure schools in areas affected by ongoing heavy rains get their examination papers on time.

    “Helicopters have been deployed to some areas, especially in northeastern and parts of Kitui County, to deliver examination papers. This is due to heavy rains being experienced in those parts of the country.” He remarked, adding that he hoped all those engaged in conducting the examinations would follow and adhere to the provided guidelines.