TSC announces strict invigilation guidelines ahead of national exams

KCSE candidates during past exams. (Photo: KNEC)

By Maureen Kinyanjui
Friday, September 12, 2025

Supervisors with conflicts of interest will be reassigned, and centre managers will verify the details of all personnel and submit records to KNEC. KCSE supervisors will rotate weekly, with outgoing supervisors preparing handover notes for their replacements.

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has unveiled comprehensive instructions for recruiting teachers to manage the upcoming national examinations, scheduled for next month.

The move is aimed at ensuring proper supervision, accountability, and smooth conduct of assessments for learners in primary, junior, and secondary schools.

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According to a circular from acting CEO Evaleen Mitei to regional directors, the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA), and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams will run from October 21 to November 21, 2025.

Preparatory rehearsals are planned a few days before the exams begin. Teachers selected must be registered in the CP2 system by September 26, 2025, and be actively employed and registered with TSC.

Personnel will not be assigned to schools where they have taught within the past three years.

In schools hosting both KPSEA and KJSEA learners, separate supervisors will be appointed for each exam if there are at least 30 candidates.

The circular specifies one invigilator for every 20 learners, while in stage-based programs, the ratio is one teacher per 10 learners.

KJSEA supervisors must be serving secondary school teachers holding at least a diploma, while KPSEA supervisors must be primary school teachers with a minimum of three years’ teaching experience and previous invigilation experience.

Invigilators for all levels must have at least three years of teaching experience.

Teachers are required to declare any personal interest in the schools where they are posted.

“No supervisor or invigilator will be deployed in a school that they have served in the last three years. The CP2 system has been configured to this effect. Supervisors and invigilators should not be deployed to centres in which they have vested interest. They will be required to declare interest in the examination centre they are posted to. To this end, Knec will email the declaration form to sub-county directors, who will share it with all centre managers,” the circular reads.

For KCSE, supervisors should be secondary school teachers with at least a diploma, preferably senior teachers or heads of department. Invigilators must be primary school teachers with a minimum of three years’ experience.

Supervisors with conflicts of interest will be reassigned, and centre managers will verify the details of all personnel and submit records to KNEC. KCSE supervisors will rotate weekly, with outgoing supervisors preparing handover notes for their replacements.

During oral and practical KCSE exams, only supervisors will be present at centres to limit unnecessary personnel and protect exam integrity.

One supervisor will manage every 200 learners, while hosted schools will not have separate supervisors. Special arrangements include at least one invigilator trained in Braille for visually impaired learners.

The TSC underlined that invigilators must be registered primary or junior school teachers with at least three years of experience, and supervisors should have a minimum of five years’ teaching experience plus prior exam supervision.