Marking of KJSEA papers to start on November 9, says KNEC

The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has activated the marking phase for the pioneer Grade 9 cohort as the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) written examinations wrap up.

KNEC Chief Executive Officer Dr David Njeng'ere has confirmed that vetted and trained examiners are expected to report to their designated marking centres nationwide on Monday, November 9, 2026, between 2pm and 6pm.

The exercise will take about three weeks, with team leaders already on site conducting preliminary briefings to ensure smooth operations.

The timeline is designed to facilitate the release of results by December, allowing learners to be placed smoothly into Grade 10 pathways before the new academic year begins in January 2027.

KNEC has designated specific primary and secondary institutions across the country to host the marking for various learning areas.

Mathematics scripts will be marked at Mang'u High School, Social Studies at Limuru Girls and English at Lenana School. Science Paper 2 examiners will report to State House Girls and St George's Girls, while Integrated Science Paper 1 will be handled jointly at Pangani Girls, Starehe Boys Centre and Ngara Girls.

Under the established remuneration structure, examiners will receive a basic fee of Sh1,500, a daily coordination allowance of Sh250 and a script fee of Sh35 per paper marked, alongside applicable travel allowances.

While optical mark recognition (OMR) systems will process multiple-choice components, human examiners will focus on evaluating open-ended, scientific reasoning and creative writing scripts.

Examiners are required to present their national identification cards and passport-sized photographs on arrival to obtain identity name tags, in line with KNEC's enhanced security protocols.

The council has urged all markers to maintain high standards of accuracy, observe the marking schemes strictly and disregard fraudulent online notices on slot allocations.