Duties and Responsibilities of KPSEA and KJSEA Invigilators and Supervisors
The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) relies on invigilators and supervisors to make sure national assessments are fair, secure and credible.
This article sets out what KNEC expects of each role in the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) and the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA).
The duties below come from KNEC appointment letters and duty lists for KPSEA. KJSEA is run under the same KNEC rules and regulations, so the core duties apply to both, but always check your own appointment letter for any KJSEA-specific instructions.
Who Does What
Both roles are responsible to the TSC Sub-County Director. The supervisor oversees the whole assessment in the centre and briefs and directs the invigilators.
The invigilator works under the supervisor’s direction and is responsible for the assessment room they are assigned.
Both must conduct the assessment according to KNEC Rules and Regulations and the instructions provided.
Duties of the Invigilator
Before and at the start of each day
- Report to the assigned centre for the briefing and assignment of duties by the supervisor.
- Report to the centre by 7:00 am every day of the assessment to receive materials from the supervisor in the presence of the Security Officers.
- Inspect the assigned room and the washrooms before the assessment starts each day, to ensure there are no unauthorized or stimulus materials in the room or on candidates’ desks or tables.
Handling candidates
- Monitor candidates closely inside and outside the room, and ensure they are escorted to the washrooms and searched before re-entering.
- Search candidates each time they enter the room to prevent unauthorized or stimulus materials, including mobile phones and other electronic devices, from being smuggled in. Female candidates are searched by a female supervisor, invigilator or teacher, and male candidates by a male supervisor, invigilator or teacher.
Handling question papers and answer sheets
- Receive the question papers from the supervisor, check that the paper is correct as per the timetable, and count the copies to confirm there are enough for every candidate before distributing them.
- Ensure every candidate is issued with an OMR answer sheet bearing their name and index number for the timetabled learning area.
- Hand over to the supervisor any question paper with errors or blank pages.
During the assessment
- Ensure the assessment starts promptly and lasts for the scheduled time.
- Ensure no unauthorized person gains access to the question papers or candidates while the assessment is in progress.
- Stay vigilant against any form of malpractice, and report suspected or detected malpractice to the supervisor immediately.
- Ensure candidates write using the writing materials prescribed by the Council and sign in the space provided.
- Do not explain questions to candidates, give any form of assistance, read candidates’ responses, or allow anyone else to read them.
- Ensure no candidate responses appear on the question paper without authority from the KNEC CEO.
After each session
- Mark “AB” in pencil on the OMR for every absent candidate, and account for all candidates using the attendance register. There must be no discrepancy between the absenteeism record on the return cover page, the OMR answer sheet and the attendance record.
- Hand over the candidates’ OMR answer scripts to the supervisor for recording, packing and sealing in the return envelope.
Overall Responsibilities of the Invigilator
- You are personally liable for any irregularity you fail to report in your assigned room and its environs.
- Ensure the assessment is conducted in accordance with the KNEC Act, other written laws and the Council’s Rules and Regulations.
- Ensure your online attendance is recorded daily by the Centre Manager. At the end of the assessment, sign against your name on the downloaded attendance register, which is submitted to KNEC as evidence of your presence and work, and is used in processing payment claims.
Duties of the Supervisor
Before the assessment
- Attend briefing sessions.
- Report to the allocated centre for the rehearsal.
- Ensure the Centre Manager allocates you a secure room with a lockable cabinet or cupboard for storing assessment materials, other than question papers and answer scripts.
- Brief the invigilators and assign them duties.
- Brief the candidates on how to conduct themselves during the assessment.
- Request from the Centre Manager the materials and equipment needed to administer the assessment, as prescribed in the Council’s Rules and Regulations.
- Ensure that only registered candidates take the assessment.
Daily preparation
- Report to the centre by 7:00 am every day to receive assessment materials from the Centre Manager.
- Inspect the rooms and washrooms each day before the assessment, to ensure there are no unauthorized or stimulus materials and that they meet the Council’s specifications.
- Supervise the search of candidates as they enter the rooms for every session, with female candidates searched by a female invigilator or teacher and male candidates by a male invigilator or teacher.
- Ensure a lockable desk is provided for the mobile phones and other electronic devices of the Centre Manager, Deputy Centre Manager, Supervisor, Invigilators, Security Officer, Cooks, Gatekeeper and Driver. The desk must be outside the examination room, throughout the session, with you keeping the key. Phones must be on silent mode.
Handling question papers
- Ensure the candidates, invigilators and Centre Manager inspect the question paper packets and sign the declaration that they are intact before opening.
- Receive the question papers from the Centre Manager in one of the assessment rooms and ensure they have not been tampered with.
- Open the packet in front of the candidates, invigilators and Centre Manager, and ensure at least one candidate countersigns the envelope as evidence of witnessing the opening.
- Ensure the invigilator issues every candidate with an OMR answer sheet bearing their name and index number, and the question paper for the learning area on the timetable.
During the assessment
- Ensure candidates respond on the OMR forms provided, and that no candidate answers on the question paper without authority from the KNEC CEO.
- Ensure the assessment starts on time and lasts for the scheduled period.
- Ensure no candidate who is more than half an hour late is given a question paper unless cleared by the Council.
- Monitor candidates closely inside and outside the room, ensuring they are escorted to the washrooms or any other premises and searched before re-entering.
- Ensure no unauthorized person has access to question papers or OMR answer sheets while the assessment is in progress.
- Ensure invigilators do not explain questions to candidates, read their responses, or allow anyone else to do so.
- Ensure the question papers for the following sessions and the answer scripts for the preceding sessions are placed on a desk in front of the candidates while the assessment is in session.
- Prevent irregularities in the centre. If one occurs, prepare a detailed report, then seal the confiscated materials and forward them with the report to the Council.
After each session
- Receive question papers with errors or blank pages from invigilators, record the details in the report and certificate of supervision, enclose these in the return envelope, and hand it to the Centre Manager for submission to the Council.
- Receive and physically count the candidates’ answer scripts from the invigilator, then record, pack and seal them in the return envelope before releasing the candidates.
- Confirm that no scripts are left behind by counting the candidates present against the scripts collected.
- Ensure the declaration on the return envelope is filled in the presence of the candidates, invigilators and Centre Manager.
- Insert the sitting plan for each paper with the candidates’ scripts. Heads of institution must not stamp the sitting plan.
- Mark “AB” against the name of every absent candidate in every session and account for all candidates using the attendance register, with no discrepancy between absenteeism and attendance records.
Records and reporting
- Keep an accurate daily record of work allocated to invigilators, and complete the attendance sheets and certificate of supervision accurately.
- Ensure the sitting plan (prepared once by the invigilators), the report and certificate of supervision, the attendance register and any other required documents are submitted to the Centre Manager for return to the distribution centre.
- Ensure all reports of hardship cases that might have affected candidates’ work are indicated in the report and certificate of supervision.
- In consultation with the Centre Manager and the Sub-County Director of Education, ensure candidates assessed under special circumstances have a conducive environment as per KNEC regulations.
Overall Responsibilities of the Supervisor
- Ensure your online attendance is taken every day by the Centre Manager.
- After the assessments, ensure you are marked present online, then download and print the attendance register and sign against your name. It is submitted to KNEC as proof of your presence and work done, and is used in processing claims.
Key Takeaways
- Security comes first. Both roles guard question papers, search candidates and control phones and electronic devices.
- Integrity is non-negotiable. Invigilators must never help candidates, and any suspected malpractice must be reported immediately.
- Accurate records matter. Absentee marking, attendance registers, sitting plans and reports must all agree, since they determine both the validity of the assessment and your payment.
- Accountability is personal. Invigilators answer for any irregularity they fail to report in their room.
