By James Murimi - Reporter
Kenya, January 09, 2026 - The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has announced new arrangements for the assessment of learners transitioning to Senior School under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system, as it released the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination results.
Speaking during the release of the results on Friday, KNEC Chief Executive Officer Dr David Njengere said the council will issue a circular outlining guidelines on Competency-Based Assessment for learners joining Grade 10, the final phase of Basic Education, by January 15, 2026.
“A circular will be issued to provide the requisite guidance on the assessment of learners joining Grade 10 as they start their last phase of Basic Education in Senior School,” Dr Njengere said. A total of 993,226 candidates sat the 2025 KCSE examination in 10,765 secondary schools across the country. Of these, 492,019 were male while 501,214 were female.
The candidates were examined in 30 subjects through 74 papers, with the examinations conducted over 24 days from October 21 to November 21, 2025. For effective administration, KNEC utilised 633 distribution centres installed countrywide to facilitate the daily distribution of examination materials.
Dr Njengere lauded the role played by 107,447 contracted professionals who facilitated the exercise, including officers from the Ministry of Education and the Teachers Service Commission, security personnel, centre managers, supervisors, invigilators and drivers.
The council also engaged 30,980 examiners who marked the examinations between November 17 and December 18, 2025, across 40 marking centres. Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok said the government remains focused on maintaining quality as it phases in the Competency-Based Education system alongside the 8-4-4 curriculum.
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“We have remained focused to ensure that as we phase in Competency-Based Education, we maintain quality in the 8-4-4 system, and I am confident that the remaining cohorts are adequately catered for,” Mr Bitok said.
He added that arrangements for the delivery of Grade 9 textbooks are on course, with the ministry committed to achieving the targeted learner-to-textbook ratio for learners transitioning in January 2025. The ministry is also undertaking a second review of Grade 10 placements following concerns raised by parents and guardians.
KNEC Chairman Prof Julius Nyabundi said the successful administration of the examinations was achieved despite significant challenges, including floods in parts of the country, particularly in northern Kenya.
“With the support of the Ministry of Education, we were able to administer the KCSE examination to all registered candidates across the country. Despite the challenges, all candidates were served,” Prof Nyabundi said.
He noted that KNEC’s lean staffing, coupled with its expansive national mandate, made collaboration with stakeholders critical in delivering the 2025 assessments, which covered an estimated 3.4 million candidates nationwide.
