Cabinet Secretary for Education, Julius Ogamba, has announced that registration for the 2026 national examinations will begin on 16th February 2026.
Speaking during the launch of the candidates’ registration season for the 2026 national assessments and examinations earlier today, Ogamba said that the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) will offer the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA), and the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).
The registration dates for KPSEA will run from 16th February to 16th March 2026. The registration period for KJSEA will run from 2nd March to 31st March 2026, while the registration period for KCSE will run from 16th February to 31st March 2026.
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Schools are expected to upload registration data and complete the registration process within the stipulated timelines.
“Our officers, including those from the Kenya National Examinations Council, have been instructed to ensure that the registration process is conducted efficiently and correctly to avert the risk of any learner being left out,” the CS said.
Ogamba pointed out that in the past, including in the just concluded examination and assessment cycle, there have been cases where learners suffered because their Heads of Institution uploaded erroneous data, for example by indicating the wrong gender. In some cases, learners were not registered at all.
He stated that these errors unfairly disenfranchise learners and also expose the Government to serious legal risks, and must be averted at all costs.
The CS warned school heads against registration-related errors, stating that disciplinary action will be taken.
“In fact, for the 2026 cycle, we will identify Heads of Institutions who have registration-related errors for appropriate disciplinary action by the Teachers Service Commission,” he stated.
KNEC will also open the portal for the registration of Grade 10 learners in readiness for School-Based Assessments.
School-Based Assessments are crucial because they constitute the formative assessment that will form part of the final reporting at the end of Senior School, when learners will be issued with their Kenya Certificate of Basic Education results.
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To ensure readiness and effective assessment in Senior School, 235 Senior School Hubs have been established in all 47 counties.
These are purposively sampled existing schools, five from each county, representing public, private, rural, urban, and special needs schools.
The purpose of the hubs is to provide closer interaction between KNEC and the Senior School learning community across the country. The hubs will support schools within their counties in implementing Competency-Based Assessment.
In addition, through KNEC’s Educational Assessment Resource Centre, an online self-paced training portal has been established for Senior School teachers.
The aim is to enable teachers to acquire the requisite skills for Competency-Based Assessment. Currently, access to the portal is free.
By Obegi Malack
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