The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) warns that delayed registration of Grade 9 learners for the 2026 Kenya Junior School Education Assessment could disrupt national exam planning and senior school placement.
KNEC has put school heads on notice over the delayed registration of Grade 9 learners for the 2026 Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA), warning that procrastination threatens to disrupt national examination planning and the placement of students into Senior School.
Registration for the 2026 KJSEA opened on March 2 and runs until March 31, a month-long window conducted through the Competency-Based Assessment (CBA) portal. The assessment evaluates learners’ competencies and plays a decisive role in guiding their transition to Senior School.
Despite the window, KNEC moved quickly to issue a stern reminder to institutions, citing a pattern of last-minute applications that have complicated past cycles.
“As the head of the institution or principal, have you registered your candidates? Do not wait for the last-minute rush and register your candidates today,” the Council said.
School heads are required to access the portal via https://cba.knec.ac.ke/, log in using their centre code as both username and password, confirm the data protection checkbox, and click the “Sign In” button. Upon logging in, heads must update their credentials, including name and mobile phone number. A one-time secret code is then sent to the registered phone number for verification. Once confirmed, users are redirected to the “Authorised Applications” dashboard, where they can select “Registration & SBAs” and begin registering candidates.
KNEC’s appeal follows difficulties experienced during previous examination cycles. When announcing the 2026 registration cycle on February 13,
Chief Executive Officer David Njengere disclosed that the Council received 5,743 late registration requests for the KCSE after its portals closed in 2025. The requests came from both public and private schools, with some principals only coming forward after pressure from parents and media scrutiny.
Njengere described registration as a foundational step in national examination planning, pointing to the real-world consequences of errors left uncorrected. “For instance, when a school indicates the wrong gender for a learner, and the error goes uncorrected, such a learner may end up being placed in a school of the opposite gender,” he said.
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He called on school associations, parents and guardians to work closely with institutions to ensure learners’ details are captured correctly and submitted within stipulated timelines, to avoid unnecessary disruptions.
Registration for the KPSEA and KCSE, which began on February 16, closes on March 16 and March 31, respectively, with the latter running concurrently with the KJSEA window.
By Benedict Aoya
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