2.4 million learners to sit KPSEA and KJSEA from Monday
Education CS Julius Ogamba chats with nominated MP Sabina Chege during the fundraiser at Nyagesenda SDA Church in Kisii County. Courtesy photo
More than 2.4 million learners across the country will begin their national assessments on Monday, marking the start of the 2025 Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC)-administered Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) and Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA).
According to the Ministry of Education, 1,298,089 Grade 6 learners will sit KPSEA, while 1,130,669 Grade 9 students will take KJSEA.
Speaking at a fundraiser at Nyagesenda SDA Church in Kisii County, CS Ogamba stressed that the government will not tolerate any form of interference, cheating or malpractice.
“These children have read and did their best to remember. Please let them do their exams without interference. Whatever grade they get, that’s their effort,” he said.
He reminded school managers, parents and teachers that the exercise will be conducted under enhanced security and stringent guidelines.
“All examination centres will remain out of bounds to unauthorised persons. We expect centre managers to strictly follow KNEC guidelines in administering the examinations,” he added.
In total, the 2025 cycle will see 3.4 million candidates across KPSEA, KJSEA and the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) sitting examinations.
The KCSE papers kicked off on October 21, 2025, with written exams scheduled to begin on November 3, 2025.
Malpractice crackdown: Hard facts
In recent years the government has stepped up efforts to combat examination cheating. In the 2024 KCSE, CS Ogamba disclosed that 621 candidates out of approximately 965,501 had been found in malpractice incidents, representing about 0.064pc of the cohort.
These incidents occurred in 198 of the 10,754 exam centres across the country.
In addition, the Ministry has introduced specialised courts to hear exam-cheating cases, and deployed thousands of professionals to manage the exam process.
“We are going to take very serious criminal action against anyone involved in the vice,” Mr Ogamba said.
He further revealed that the government has arrested suspects involved in the circulation of fake exam papers on social media.
“We call upon the public to be vigilant and report suspicious activities through KNEC’s toll-free lines. Any cases of misconduct involving police officers may be reported to IPOA via 1559.”
The CS listed the number of contracted professionals deployed this year as 342,687, including centre managers, invigilators, supervisors, and security officers charged with overseeing the exams and assessments.
