The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has issued fresh guidelines to ensure smooth administration of the 2025 Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) and Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA).
In a statement on Sunday, October 26, KNEC encouraged strict adherence to examination procedures by all field officers and centre managers.
The council clarified that different reporting and opening times will apply for the various examinations, and all personnel will be required to surrender their phones during the exercise.
"The 2025 KPSEA and KJSEA start tomorrow as KCSE examination enters the second week. Field officers are reminded, containers to be opened at 6am for KPSEA and KJSEA and 7am for KCSE and mobile phones of all personnel in the centre to be locked up and the key kept by the supervisor," the statement read.
KNEC further directed all centre managers to ensure that only authorized personnel are allowed into the examination centres, and that their identities are properly verified before being granted access.
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"All centre managers must have the approved list of persons in the centre who must have national ID cards for identification and KPSEA and KJSEA supervisors must ensure they open the right packet for the right session," the statement added.
According to the official timetable, KPSEA candidates will begin with Mathematics between 8:30 a.m. and 9:50 a.m., followed by English papers later in the morning.
For KJSEA candidates, English Language Paper 1 will start at 8:30 a.m., while the Composition and Literary Analysis paper will follow after a short break.
This comes barely a week after KNEC launched the 2025 series of assessments and examinations, which will run for one month.
In a statement on Wednesday, October 22, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos announced that the exams began on Tuesday, October 21, and will continue through late November.
According to the CS, over 3.4 million learners in Grade 6, Grade 9 and Form 4 are sitting for various national assessments across the country.
"The Ministry of Education, through the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC), commenced the administration of the 2025 series of assessments and examinations on 21st October, 2025, with an end date of 21st November, 2025.
"This year, national assessments and examinations will be administered to learners in Grade 6, Grade 9 and Form 4. There are 3,424,836 candidates across all assessments and examinations, made up as follows: Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (Grade 6) - 1,298,089 candidates; Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (Grade 9) - 1,130,669 candidates; and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (Form 4) - 996,078 candidates," he said.
To support the nationwide exercise, Migos said the ministry has deployed hundreds of thousands of personnel to oversee the process in all centres across Kenya.
"A total of 342,687 contracted professionals have been engaged in the administration of the assessments and examinations. The contracted professionals comprise centre managers, supervisors, invigilators, security officers, Ministry of Education staff and officers from the Ministry of Interior and National Administration," he added.
Migos noted that this year’s examination management continues to rely on collaboration across several government agencies to ensure integrity.
"In order to deliver a seamless and credible examination and assessment process, the Ministry has embraced a multiagency approach that involves working together with the Ministry of Interior and National Administration; the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, the Teachers Service Commission, the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA), among other stakeholders," he further said.
Migos further revealed that logistical preparations have been made to ensure that all candidates receive their examination materials on time and that any disruptions will be addressed.
"In addition, the following specific measures have been taken: all registered examination centres have been mapped to the nearest distribution centres to ensure timely delivery of papers. To ensure that no candidate misses their examination or assessment, contingency plans have been put in place to address any emerging challenges," he stated.
Migos also issued a stern warning against individuals circulating fake examination materials, confirming that arrests have already been made.
"All assessment and examination papers have been well secured. We have received reports of cases of fraudulent circulation of fake examination and assessment papers. In collaboration with security agencies, we have apprehended a number of suspects and investigations are underway to bring more to book," he concluded.
