Over 1 million candidates begin written KCSE exams

About 1,048,355 candidates in over 10,000 examination centres are scheduled to sit English Paper 1 in the morning, while those registered for Chemistry will sit Chemistry Paper 1 in the afternoon.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said the examination will continue until Friday, November 20.

The 2026 KCSE examination officially commenced on October 19 with oral, practical and low-candidature papers. 

CS Ogamba maintained that all security and examination officials remain vigilant to tame exam malpractice and uphold integrity.

“The Government, through KNEC and its partners, has strengthened the security of examination materials, significantly reducing the risk of leakage and early exposure,” he said.

“Nevertheless, examination malpractice remains a concern, particularly through impersonation, collusion and possession of unauthorised materials.”

Likewise, he asserted that the government and the Ministry of Education had put necessary measures to ensure the examination runs seamlessly, with the impending El Niño rains set to be experienced till end of the year.

“Our priority is to safeguard candidates and examination personnel while ensuring that any disruption is addressed promptly and that affected candidates are supported in accordance with KNEC arrangements,” CS Ogamba noted.

This year, the CS said, has seen the largest uptake of candidates compared with 995,860 in 2025 and 965,172 in 2024. 

Ministry records show that this represents an increase of 5.27 per cent over the 2025 candidature

The final KCSE cohort is expected to sit the examination in 2027, as the country continues its transition to Competency-Based Education from the 8-4-4 curriculum.