Knec CEO announces registration dates for three national exams

Kenya National Examinations Council CEO Dr. David Njengere explains to members of the press about the Kenya National Examinations Council pilot of the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) and Kenya Pre-Vocational Level Education Assessment (KPLEA) at New Mtihani House, South C in Nairobi on July 12,2024[Robert Tomno,Standard]

The Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) is set to commence registration for three national examinations to be administered this year.

Knec Chief Executive, David Njengere, said that the Council will begin registration of the 2025 Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) candidates on January 27.

Similarly, the portals for the registration of the Kenya Junior Secondary Education Assessment (KJSEA) for Grade 9 students and the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination candidates will open from February 17.

“I request centre managers to ensure that their candidates are registered for the subjects they are studying, as there will be no provisions for erroneous registrations. Any candidates who are erroneously registered in 2025 will have no alternative but to defer their examination to 2026,” Dr Njengere said.

While there was a remarkable improvement in the quality of registration data for the KCSE examination last year, Njengere said there were cases of 113 candidates in 88 examination centres who were registered for the wrong subjects.

This occurred despite Knec reiterating that KCSE examination papers would be personalised.

Njengere stated that Knec is about to enter a significant period in its history, where it will administer a summative national assessment at Junior School for the first time, known as the KJSEA.

The assessment will be administered to an estimated 1,145,585 learners who were in Grade 8 last year and have since transitioned to Grade 9.

Knec will also prepare to administer the Kenya Pre-Vocational Level Education Assessment (KPVLEA) to an estimated 5,306 learners following the Stage-Based pathway.

In preparation for the KJSEA and KPVLEA, Njengere said that Knec conducted a pilot in July last year and made all necessary adjustments based on feedback from the exercise.

“One of the key outputs of the pilot was sample papers for the assessment, which are now available online via the Knec Competency-Based Assessment portal, for access by schools in preparing their learners,” he said.

Knec will also send an online questionnaire to KJSEA candidates to gather feedback on their interests and personalities, which will provide information to guide their placement in senior schools.