KCSE exams kick off on Tuesday with record number of candidates

The 2024 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams officially begin on Tuesday, October 22.

This year’s exams will be held in 10,755 centres with the largest number of candidates ever recorded - 965,501 students - up from 903,138 in 2023.

Candidates will begin with practical and oral exams for elective subjects ahead of the main written papers scheduled to start on November 4.

Students had their rehearsals last Friday, and the first batch of exams includes French (oral), German (oral), Kenyan Sign Language (practical signing skills), and music (practical).

According to the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC), the first session of exams will start daily at 8 am, with the second session beginning at 2 pm. Each paper's time allowance has been specified, and KNEC emphasised that no extra time will be allowed.

"In case of any discrepancy, the time stated on the question paper should be taken as the correct one. Time for reading through questions is part of the time shown on the question paper except where special paper instructions indicate otherwise," KNEC said.

The KCSE exams will conclude on November 22, with the final paper being a Physics practical.

To facilitate the smooth collection and distribution of exam materials, KNEC has added 41 more distribution centres, bringing the total to 617.

"We have installed additional containers to ease the collection of KCSE examination papers twice a day," KNEC CEO David Njeng'ere said during the launch of the examination period.

Alongside KCSE, KNEC will also administer the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) for Grade Six learners before they transition to junior school in January 2025.

School Placement

KPSEA will not determine school placement as the move to Grade Seven is automatic.

This year, 1,313,913 candidates are registered for the assessment, which will take place in 32,573 centres. Combined with the KCSE candidates, this brings the total number of candidates for national exams to 2,279,414.

Between October 28 and November 1, KNEC will also conduct the Kenya Intermediate Level Education Assessment (KILEA), a specialised exam for learners with disabilities following a stage-based curriculum rather than the standard system.

However, the examination period coincides with the start of the short rains, which may present logistical challenges in distributing exam materials, especially in remote areas.

"For KPSEA, security officers will only be engaged in distributing materials and collecting candidates' answer sheets. For KCSE, the existing practice of having at least two security officers at each centre will remain," Njeng'ere added.

The exams come under the looming threat of a boycott by the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), which has demanded better allowances and working conditions for examiners, invigilators, supervisors and centre managers.

The marking of the KCSE exams is expected to be completed before schools reopen on January 6, 2025, with approximately 32,480 teachers involved across 40 marking centres.

In a bid to prevent examination malpractice, Knec has introduced new regulations.

All personnel involved in the exam administration will be required to store their phones in lockable desks, monitored by a security officer.

"The desk keys will be kept by the supervisor," Njeng'ere explained.

Meanwhile, learners under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) will transition to Grade Nine in January 2025, marking the final year of junior school before moving to senior school the following year.

At the end of Grade Nine, students will sit the inaugural Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA).

"We conducted a pilot assessment in 265 schools in July 2024 and will be sharing the results with stakeholders by the end of this month. The feedback will guide the Ministry of Education in placing learners in the appropriate pathways as they transition to senior school," the KNEC boss said.