KPSEA and KJSEA 2026: Your Complete Guide to the Next Few Days
Today, Monday 26th October 2026, the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) and the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) begin across the country.
Rehearsals took place on Friday 23rd October. KPSEA runs until Wednesday 28th October, and KJSEA continues until Friday 30th October.
For candidates, parents, teachers and field officers, the KNEC guide spells out what the next few days should look like.
An Early Start at the Container
The day begins well before candidates sit down. On the first day, a briefing must be held before any container is opened.
Everyone involved should witness the opening time and confirm that the cartons are intact. Containers for both assessments open at 6:00 a.m., and assessments run between 8:30 a.m. and 12:10 p.m. or as late as 3:30 p.m., depending on the day’s timetable.
KPSEA and KJSEA materials are collected from the container once each morning. Sub-County Directors of Education (SCDEs) and Centre Managers (Headteachers) must confirm they are picking up the right materials.
Colour coding helps. KPSEA cartons carry white labels with small pink stickers, while KJSEA cartons carry green labels, and both have blue straps.
KPSEA question paper polybags are light green, and KJSEA polybags are blue. Cover pages also differ: pink for the first session and blue for the second, with KJSEA adding a green cover for a third session.
Centre Managers must verify and sign for everything they collect. Schools farthest from the container are served first.
Materials must be moved in the designated transport. Security officers for KPSEA and KJSEA escort the materials to and from the container, but they are stationed in schools only in areas declared insecure.
Opening the Packets
At the centre, Supervisors verify and endorse receipt of intact question paper packets in the presence of invigilators and candidates.
Packets are opened five minutes before the scheduled start time. Supervisors must then ensure that:
- each candidate receives the question paper or OMR sheet bearing their own details;
- each candidate signs and dates in the space provided;
- question papers for absent candidates are placed in the question paper envelope, stapled, and kept at the front of the room throughout the session.
Personalisation is a key feature this year. All KJSEA question papers and all KPSEA and KJSEA OMR sheets carry candidate details.
KJSEA question papers carry random numbers, ending in three digits starting from 001, while OMR forms for both assessments carry assessment numbers instead.
The Format of KJSEA Papers
KJSEA papers fall into three categories, unchanged from 2025:
1. Multiple-choice only, such as English 901/1, Kiswahili 902/1 and KSL 904/1. These use question papers and OMR sheets, with no perforation.
2. Structured questions only, such as English 901/2, Kiswahili 902/2 and Integrated Science 905/2. These have personalised question papers with perforation and no OMR.
3. Mixed formats, including Mathematics, Integrated Science 905/1, Agriculture, Social Studies, the religious education papers, Creative Arts and Sports (Theory) and Pre-Technical Studies Theory. Candidates receive personalised papers with perforation, plus OMR sheets.
Candidates should know which format they are facing before they start.
Rules for Candidates
Candidates may use only transparent, clear-bodied biro pens. OMR responses are shaded with a pencil, inside the ellipses and never struck through, while structured responses are written in biro.
Candidates must be reminded not to cut off the area bearing their personalised details, and to keep OMR sheets clean and free of creases.
No candidate answers multiple-choice questions on the question paper unless KNEC has expressly authorised it. If such authority is given, the OMR form is packed together with the question paper used.
For KJSEA, calculators in papers that allow them must be codeless and non-programmable. They must not have formula storage, graphics, dictionary or algebraic storage, or any other programming facility.
Candidates should not enter the room with calculator covers. Wristwatches are not permitted, so every examination room must have a wall clock.
Mathematical tables will be checked to ensure they are clean, and candidates will be checked for unauthorised materials.
For KJSEA papers with counterfoils, candidates must not detach them until the end of the session. Invigilators then detach them carefully and place them in the clear return envelope. Counterfoils for absent candidates are never detached.
Conduct Inside the Centre
Invigilators are expected to stand at the back of the room to deter access to unauthorised materials. Supervisors must record incidents as they occur. All officers must display badges showing their roles.
Mobile phones and electronic devices belonging to everyone at the centre, including security officers, are kept under lock and key outside the examination room, with the key held by the Supervisor. No one may enter an assessment room carrying a phone while a paper is in progress.
School gates stay open from 6:00 a.m. until the day’s materials leave the centre. Only authorised persons may be present: the Centre Manager, one official deputy, Supervisors, security officers, invigilators, the gatekeeper, a reasonable number of cooks, and, for practicals, the relevant teachers and laboratory assistants.
School directors, Board of Management members, bursars, secretaries, unauthorised teachers and grounds staff must stay away while assessments are in progress.
Where a centre has both KJSEA and KPSEA, one Supervisor serves both, but each assessment has its own rooms and invigilators.
Handling Absentees and Special Cases
Supervisors mark absent candidates as AB on the correct cover page, and Centre Managers report their details daily on the CP2 portal.
An absent candidate’s OMR sheet must never be given to another candidate, even if there is a shortage. Their question papers stay sealed and in view throughout the session and are returned at the end of the day.
Candidates who cannot reach their centre but are sitting the assessment elsewhere should not be declared absent.
Such hardship cases must be reported to KNEC immediately, recorded in the Script Control Form and the Certificate of Supervision, and captured on the CP2 portal.
Their answer sheets go into a special hardship envelope. If a non-personalised paper is used, the counterfoil is not detached, KJSEA candidates must write their names and school random numbers on the answer sheet, and KPSEA candidates must write their assessment numbers, names and school codes.
End-of-Day Procedures
At the end of each session, the Supervisor accounts for all scripts in front of candidates and witnesses before handing materials to the Centre Manager.
For KPSEA and for multiple-choice KJSEA papers, this means script return envelopes holding OMR sheets with the return cover page and barcode facing up, plus the used question paper polybags.
These polybags contain all question papers, unused and absent ones included, and the Supervisor’s Instruction Sheet, and must be stapled. Every return envelope must have a Return Cover Page.
For structured and mixed-format KJSEA papers, the handling mirrors a structured-script process, with Script Control Forms and counterfoils packed accordingly.
OMR sheets must not have other papers between them, whether cover pages, letters or seating plans.
Return envelopes are black for KPSEA and green for KJSEA. Only one seating plan is drawn for the entire assessment and submitted with the supervision materials.
Centre Managers, escorted, return materials to the container, sign the receiving printout, and account for every envelope and candidate. SCDEs verify packets, place them in recycled cartons with the pre-printed return labels, and keep barcodes unblocked. Any discrepancy must be resolved before materials leave the container and reported to KNEC.
Officers and Integrity
Every officer must carry an appointment letter and ID, and wear a badge. Replacement officers must be briefed before starting. The online register is filled daily, printed, signed and stamped by both the Centre Manager and the SCDE.
KNEC monitoring officers may go straight to assessment rooms without first reporting to the office, so Centre Managers must allow access without hindrance.
Officers from the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) will also be monitoring the conduct of security officers.
Anyone with information on malpractice can reach KNEC through its Call Centre on 0800721410 or 0800724900, the numbers on the infographics (0798060000 or 0798060010), or its social media channels. Complaints about security officers go to IPOA on the toll-free line 1559.
The Weather Factor
With El Niño advisories in place, KNEC has asked county and sub-county officers to flag risks early and plan mitigation, including relocating candidates to safer areas if necessary.
The safety of candidates, officers and materials comes first. Emergencies should be reported to the Call Centre immediately.
Parents and Learners: The Takeaway
Learners should arrive early, carry a pencil and clear biro, and keep their OMR sheets clean. Parents should leave phones and unnecessary items at home and keep the school premises clear while assessments are on.
KNEC’s message is that a well-prepared, orderly process protects every candidate’s result.
