More than 960,000 candidates across the country have officially begun the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination, marking the start of the final stage of their secondary education journey.
The exams commenced with oral papers for foreign and sign languages, including German, French, Arabic, and Kenyan Sign Language, as per the examination schedule released by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC).
The oral assessments will be followed by practical examinations, which are set to run from October 22 to October 31. Written examinations are scheduled to take place from Tuesday, November 4 to Friday, November 21, 2025.
Immediately after KCSE, the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) and the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) will be conducted concurrently for three days starting October 27, with rehearsals set for October 24.
KNEC Chief Executive Officer David Njengere recently confirmed that 996,078 candidates had registered for KCSE this year. He added that 1,130,669 learners, the first cohort under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system, are set to sit for KJSEA, while 1,298,089 candidates registered for KPSEA.
“In total, 3,424,836 candidates will undertake national examinations and assessments this year. The field administration began on October 17 and will end on November 21, 2025,” Njengere stated.
To enhance exam integrity, KNEC has installed 25 additional secure storage containers, bringing the total to 642 across the country, up from 617 in 2024. Njengere noted that early exposure of examination materials had been successfully addressed in recent years.
He emphasized that all invigilators and supervisors deployed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) have been thoroughly vetted to ensure they uphold the highest standards of integrity.
