The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has released detailed guidelines on the handling and issuance of the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results.
In a circular signed by KNEC CEO Dr. David Njengere and addressed to all Sub‑County Directors of Education and Heads of Institutions that presented candidates, KNEC outlined the grading system, issuance of result slips, explanations for withheld or pended results, procedures for lodging queries, and the issuance of certificates.
According to the circular, the KCSE certificate is awarded to candidates who meet all requirements and sit for at least seven subjects out of the 33 offered at secondary level.
KNEC will issue hard copies of results print‑outs for each examination centre and individual result slips to all candidates. “Results will be reported using both numeric and letter grading, ranging from Grade A (12 points, Very Good) to Grade E (1 point, Poor). The mean grade indicated on the slip is based on the seven best‑performed subjects, while aggregate points denote the total grade points from those subjects.” The circular read.
The Council explained terminologies used in cases where results are not issued at the time of release. “X” denotes an absent candidate who did not sit for one or all papers. “Y” indicates involvement in examination irregularities, with details communicated to schools through Sub‑County Directors of Education.
“P” means results are pended due to failure to meet requisite requirements, with reasons and required actions communicated to institutions.
“W” denotes withheld results pending investigations, while “U” indicates a candidate is ungraded for not meeting the stipulated awarding criteria. Such candidates will only receive slips showing grades for subjects sat, but no certificate will be issued.
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The circular further clarified that candidates will subsequently be assigned mean grades based on these codes: “X” for absent candidates in all subjects, “Y” for those involved in malpractice, “U” for those who did not meet entry requirements, “P” for pended results due to outstanding queries, and “W” for withheld results awaiting investigations.
On queries related to examination results, KNEC directed that all appeals must be submitted within 30 days of release through the respective Heads of Institutions.
Queries lodged after the appeal period will attract a penalty of Ksh5,000. Other charges include Ksh3,000 per subject for under protest cases, Ksh1,000 per candidate for unmatching details, and Ksh7,200 per candidate for undeclared repeaters. Errors in registration details such as gender, spelling of names, or year of birth will only be corrected once similar corrections are made in the candidate’s KCPE records.
All certificates will be issued through the institutions where candidates were registered, and KNEC retains the right to withdraw a certificate where deemed necessary.
By Masaki Enock
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