More than one million candidates have begun sitting their written Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations, marking a major stage in this year’s national assessment.
A total of 1,048,355 candidates across more than 10,000 examination centres are scheduled to sit English Paper 1 in the morning, followed by Chemistry Paper 1 in the afternoon for those registered for the subject.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said the examinations will run until Friday, November 20, noting that this is the second-last cohort to undertake the KCSE under the current system.
The 2026 examination officially began on October 19, with candidates first undertaking oral, practical and low-candidature papers.
Ogamba assured the public that security and examination officials remain on high alert to prevent malpractice and protect the credibility of the national assessment.
He said the government, through the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) and its partners, had reinforced security around examination materials to minimise cases of leakage and premature exposure.
“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.
However, the CS warned that examination irregularities remain a concern, particularly cases involving impersonation, collusion and possession of prohibited materials.
Ogamba further said the government and the Ministry of Education had put in place measures to ensure the examinations proceed smoothly, even as the country prepares for the anticipated El Niño rains expected to continue until the end of the year.
This year’s candidature is the highest recorded so far, surpassing the 995,860 candidates who sat the examination in 2025 and the 965,172 registered in 2024.
According to ministry records, the number of candidates has increased by 5.27 per cent compared to last year’s registration, reflecting continued growth in the number of learners undertaking the national secondary school examination.
