KNEC gives candidates three weeks to register for the national exams

Registration for three national exams set for November and December this year has begun.

Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) Chief Executive David Njengere said listing of Grade Six, Standard Eight and Form Four candidates starts now until May 14.

"Parents have three weeks to make sure that their children are registered for the assessments and examinations which are set to be administered in November and December," said Njengere.

Grade Six learners are being registered for Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) as Standard Eight are enrolled for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE).

Form Four students are registering for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination. Knec has also called for registration of candidates who will sit the KCSE Qualifying Tests.

Njengere said registration for the examinations is free. Basic Education Principal Secretary Jwan Julius warned schools against asking candidates for examination fees.

"The fees shall be paid by the government and no one should take money from candidates in public and private institutions," said Jwan.

Knec said the only learners required to pay for the exams are those repeating KCPE or KCSE, non-Kenyans, private candidates registering in the sub-county private examination centres and candidates in prisons.

The fees payable, which is done through Knec bank accounts, range from Sh750 to Sh6,300 for nine subjects.

Njengere said head teachers are expected to submit registration documents to the Sub-County Directors of Education (SCDEs) by May 20.

The registration will only be done online by the respective head teachers, said Njengere.

Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha asked parents to be involved and to provide correct information on learners, including those with special needs during the registration and verification of the enrolment.

Prof Magoha said schools should capture the names of candidates correctly as per the birth certificate. The info should also include gender, year of birth, citizenship, and subjects entered.

Magoha said transfer of candidates once registration is completed will not be done.

He, however, said special cases related to illness and insecurity will be handled appropriately once brought to the attention of Knec centre through the SCDE.

Head teachers must ensure that all candidates being registered are bona fide learners in that school.

Registration of any other persons will be treated as examination malpractice and attracts sanctions against an examination centre, including de-registration of the school as an exam centre.

Schools with less than five candidates will not be allowed to register them. They are advised to liaise with SCDE, who will identify an approved Knec examination centre with more than five candidates.

Schools with less than 30 candidates will be hosted during the examinations as per the previously issued guidelines on hosting of examination centres.

To capture the registration details of the candidates using examination centre log-in credentials, school heads are supposed to log in the Knec registration portal.

They will also be tasked with ensuring accuracy of candidates’ names and correct order, gender, year of birth, citizenship and subjects registered for. They should also state whether a candidate has special needs (blind, low vision, deaf and physically challenged).

For KPSEA, all school heads are reminded to verify the learners’ bio-data as captured in the Grade Five assessment.

For registration of the KCSE examination, principals are required to upload the candidates’ passport photographs, with specifications of 300 x 300 pixels.

All schools and candidates shall be expected to adhere to the entry requirements as stipulated in the registration instructions for KCPE and KCSE exams.

The instructions are in the Regulations and Use Guides for the Management of KCPE and KCSE Examinations issued by Knec in 2017.

Private candidates should be identified and registered by their respective SCDEs.

The candidates shall be required to fill and submit the downloaded Private Candidates Registration Form alongside other requisite documents.

For coordination purposes, only private examination centres will be registered per sub-county.

The SCDEs are supposed to identify one public school where the private candidates will be hosted during the examination,.

There, they will also undertake KCSE projects and sit practical examinations.

The KCSE Qualifying Test shall be offered to prospective candidates who do not meet the stipulated entry requirements for the examination and candidates will be registered at their respective SCDE’s offices and respective SCDE officers will identify examination venues.

To register, a copy of original CPE examination certificate for those who did not sit KCPE will be required.

Others are a copy of the Letter of Equation from Knec for all candidates holding non-Kenya (foreign) primary education certificates.

Prospective candidates can access the services of Letter of Equation from Knec website.

Head teachers and SCDEs are required to safeguard and carefully handle log-in passwords and in case they are lost or forgotten, they should write an email to Knec.

For registration of newly gazetted sub-counties that have been approved as examination centres and requiring Knec codes, they should submit to Knec a Kenyan Gazette Notice on creation of the sub-county.

Others are a list of schools showing previous codes and the proposed new codes, location of the facility (container) and details of Deputy County Commissioner and Assistant County Commissioner.

Schools requesting to be made examination centres for KPSEA, KCPE and KCSE should submit to Knec a copy of a valid registration form from County Director of Education, an inspection questionnaire and a duly filed application form from school.