The Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) has stated the dates when registration of candidates for national exams and assessments will start and end.
Knec launched the 2026 candidates registration exercise on Friday led by its CEO David Njengere.
“I wish to report that KNEC has begun putting in place the prerequisite logistics for conduct of the 2026 assessments and KCSE examination, including: preparation of the online registration portals; drafting of the timetables; preparation of circulars on registration of the 2026 candidates; need analysis and identification of areas requiring improvement; preparation of the platform for registration of Grade 10 learners,” said Njengere who was accompanied by top education officials including CS Education, Julius Ogamba.
Njengere said 2025 was particularly a unique year for KNEC, as the Council was administering the KJSEA for the first time, to an estimated 1,130,587 candidates.
For 2026, based on previous candidature trends and the anticipated upsurge of candidates enrolling for the KCSE examination, KNEC anticipates to register about 3,700,000 candidates.
Grade 6 learners will sit for Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), Grade 9 learners will sit for Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) while Form 4 students will sit for Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).
According to Knec, registration for KPSEA candidates will start on 16th February to 16th March 2026.
KJSEA candidates will be registered begining 2nd March to 31st March 2026 while KCSE candidates will have their registration running from 16th February to 31st March 2026.
Knec will issue a circular to guide registration for the three national tests. The circular will also list requirements for this year registration.
For KPSEA and KJSEA schools will log into the Knec CBA portal to register learners with assessment numbers.
According to Knec only eligible learners should be presented for KPSEA, KJSEA and KCSE exams.
According to Knec for a learner to be registered for KPSEA he or she must first be registered in the Grade 6 portal first to obtain an assessment number.
The learners were already issued with an assessment number when in Grade 3 but Knec will conduct fresh registration to ensure accuracy of candidates bio data.
The assessment number which is a unique identifier will then be used to complete KPSEA registration.
The registration for the learners will start on Monday. Headteachers wil ensure the candidates bio data are effected during registration.
Details which Knec often want school heads to correct before completing the KPSEA registration are;
1)Gender
2) Year of Birth
3) Citizenship
4) Religious education registered for (IRE, CRE)
5) Categories of special needs and disabilities where applicable
6) Correct spelling and order of learners names as documented in the birth certificate
Knec has previously warned schools against registering ghost candidates saying such action will lead to deregistration of the school as a Knec assessment centre.
“Candidates presented for the assessment must be eligible learners in the respective institutions presenting them. Registration of ghost candidates constitutes an assessment malpractice which attracts sanctions, including deregistration of the school as a Knec assessment centre,” said Knec CEO David Njengere in a previous circular addressed to all headteachers.
After registration schools will then download a KPSEA nominal roll which show all registered candidates with their details.
Knec will also open the Competency Based Assessment (CBA) portal for registration of Grade 3 learners.
The Grade 3 learners will sit for their first national assessment called Kenya Early Year Assessment (KEYA) beginning next term.
KEYA comprise of practical activities during the second term and written assessment during the third term.
For KJSEA registration, candidate must be existing in the Grade 9 database. He or she must also have a KPSEA Performance Report.
They must also have School Based Assessments (SBA) scores for Grades 7 and 8 in all the Learning Areas.
Schools are warned against registration of ghost candidates which constitutes to an assessment malpractice and attracts sanctions, including de-registration of the schools as a KNEC assessment centre.
The Heads of Institutions must ensure accuracy of the registration data for all learners, Including the following:
- Correct spelling and order of learners’ names as documented in their Birth Certificates;
- Gender;
- Year of birth;
- Citizenship;
- Religious Education option registered for eg CRE, IRE, HRE;
Any requests for transfer of Grade 6 and 9 must be done online to avoid double registration of candidates. Transfer of candidates will not be allowed after the closure of the registration portal.
After registration parents can then confirm if the candidate is registered for KPSEA, KJSEA or KCSE by sending an SMS with the candidate index number for KCSE or assessment number in the case of KPSEA or KJSEA starting with the examor assessment type to 20076.
For example KCSE123506013 for checking KCSE exam for a candidate of index number 123506013.
Then a confirmation message will be sent thereafter showing if the candidate with the provided index or assessment number is actually registered.
