The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
More than one million candidates have started sitting the written papers in the 2026 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations, marking the beginning of a crucial phase of 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, while those taking Chemistry will tackle Paper 1 in the afternoon.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said the written examinations will run until Friday, November 20.
Click here to join our WhatsApp Channel
The 2026 KCSE examinations began on October 19 with oral, practical and low-candidature papers.
Ogamba said the government had put in place security measures to protect the integrity of the examinations and prevent cases of malpractice.
He noted that the Ministry of Education, the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) and other partners had enhanced the security of examination materials, reducing the chances of leakage and early 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 cautioned that examination malpractice remained a challenge, particularly through impersonation, collusion and possession of unauthorised materials.
He also said the government had established measures to ensure the examinations proceed smoothly despite the anticipated El Niño rains, which are expected to continue towards the end of the year.
According to Ogamba, the priority is to protect candidates and examination personnel while ensuring that any disruptions are addressed promptly. He added that candidates affected by such incidents would receive support in line with KNEC procedures.
This year’s candidature is the highest recorded so far, rising from 995,860 candidates in 2025 and 965,172 in 2024.
Ministry of Education figures indicate that the 2026 candidature represents a 5.27 per cent increase compared to last year’s total.
The 2027 examination is expected to be the final KCSE cohort as Kenya continues its transition from the 8-4-4 system to Competency-Based Education (CBE).
