The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) is staring at one of the heaviest operational seasons in its history as it prepares to administer four major national assessments involving nearly four million learners across the country, stretching its financial, logistical, and human resource capacity to the limit.
This year, the council will oversee the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) for Grade 6, the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) for Grade 9, the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) for Form Four candidates, and, for the first time, the Grade 10 School-Based Assessment (SBA) under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
KNEC Chief Executive Officer Dr David Njengere has described the task ahead as unprecedented in scale and complexity, coming at a time when the council is still grappling with chronic underfunding and rising costs.
“This year will be quite heavy. Second year of running three big assessments: KPSEA, KJSEA, and KCSE, all with candidature hovering around one million. Then we have the Grade 10 cohort that will sit their first SBA in Senior School,” Njengere said.
According to KNEC estimates, about four million learners will sit various assessment papers between September and November, a sharp increase driven by the full rollout of CBC alongside the tail end of the 8-4-4 system.
The transition has effectively forced the council to run two education systems concurrently, multiplying costs for printing, storage, transportation, invigilation, marking, and security.
The heavy workload comes against a backdrop of financial strain that last year nearly crippled the examination body. In the 2024/2025 financial year, KNEC recorded a deficit of Sh3.7 billion in administering national examinations after the initial budget failed to allocate funds for exams and invigilation.
That omission triggered widespread public outrage, with parents, teachers, and education stakeholders warning that millions of candidates risked missing national exams. Lawmakers were equally alarmed.
The National Assembly moved to allocate Sh5.9 billion towards the administration of national examinations for primary, junior, and secondary schools. The funding followed intense pressure from Parliament and the public, forcing a rethink of earlier budget estimates that had left KNEC unfunded.
“There is a proposed increment of Sh5.9 billion for examination administration and invigilation provision for national examinations, which had not been provided for in the budget,” the National Assembly Committee on Education noted in its report to the Budget and Appropriations Committee (BAC).
The committee proposed reallocating Sh2 billion from junior school capitation, Sh3 billion from secondary school capitation, and Sh900 million from primary school funds to plug the immediate gap.
However, even with the Sh5.9 billion allocation, KNEC remains underfunded. The total amount required to facilitate the 2025 national examinations stood at Sh12.58 billion, leaving a significant shortfall in a sector already facing an estimated Sh62 billion funding gap.
Originally, budget projections reflected zero funding for examinations and invigilation, a move that drew sharp resistance from legislators. National Assembly Education Committee chairman Julius Melly warned that Parliament would not approve the education budget without exam funding.
“We shall not write our report without the examination money,” Melly told Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok during a committee session on May 13.
Following the standoff, PS Bitok was instructed to work with the National Treasury to submit an addendum reinstating critical allocations, including exam funding, school capitation, quality assurance, and the school feeding programme.
Finance Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi later sought to calm public anxiety, assuring parents and candidates that exams would not be disrupted.
“There is no need to panic. It will be catered for,” Mbadi said, adding that the government is reviewing the current exam structure and funding approach, including who should qualify for government-subsidised examination fees.
Beyond funding, KNEC is also contending with the technical and operational demands of CBC, which emphasises continuous assessment alongside summative exams.
The introduction of Grade 10 SBA marks the first formal assessment at the senior school level, requiring new tools, digital platforms, teacher training, and monitoring systems.
Unlike traditional exams, SBAs are conducted over time within schools, placing additional pressure on KNEC to ensure standardisation, credibility,y and integrity across thousands of institutions.
Dr Njengere says the council is strengthening its digital infrastructure and working closely with teachers and school administrators to support the rollout.
“We are investing in systems that allow secure capture and transmission of assessment data while ensuring teachers are adequately guided on assessment standards,” he said.
To cope with the heavy burden, KNEC says it is prioritising cost-cutting measures, tighter logistics planning, and partnerships with security agencies to safeguard exam materials. The council is also leveraging technology to reduce printing volumes where possible and streamline marking processes.
Internally, staff deployment has been optimised, with teams working across multiple assessments rather than in silos. Externally, KNEC is engaging Parliament and the Treasury to push for predictable, ring-fenced funding for examinations to avoid last-minute crises.
Education experts warn that without sustainable financing, the credibility of national assessments could be compromised.
“KNEC cannot continue operating on emergency funding every year. Exams are a constitutional right for learners and must be planned for adequately,” said an education policy analyst in Nairobi.
