kenya national examinations council

The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has directed all principals to verify the upload status of School-Based Assessment (SBA) scores for candidates sitting the 2026 Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) and Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA). 

In a notice issued on Thursday, June 2, heads of institutions have been instructed to log into their school’s Competency-Based Assessment (CBA) portal to confirm the uploaded scores for all eligible candidates by the July 30 deadline.

The directive comes as KNEC undertakes verification of SBA scores captured by schools ahead of the national assessments. 

“KNEC is in the process of verifying the capturing of SBA scores by schools. All Heads of Institutions are therefore expected to log into their school CBA portals to confirm the status of uploading of SBA scores for their 2026 KPSEA and KJSEA candidates. This should be done by 30th July 2026,” the notice read.

The verification exercise is part of KNEC’s preparations for the 2026 assessments under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), with schools expected to ensure that all candidate records are accurately captured.

SBA scores from Grades 4, 5 and 6 contribute about 60 per cent of a learner’s final KPSEA score, while the national examination accounts for the remaining 40 per cent before learners can transition to junior secondary school. 

The 2026 KPSEA examinations are scheduled to run from Monday, October 26, to Wednesday, October 28.

For KJSEA, SBA scores from Grades 7 and 8 contribute 20 per cent of the final score, while the summative assessment accounts for 60 per cent and the KPSEA score contributes the remaining 20 per cent. 

This year’s KJSEA examinations will be administered from Monday, October 26, through Friday, October 30.

The latest directive comes as KNEC ramps up preparations for this year’s national assessments.

KNEC announced that schools can now access the Grade 10 and vocational level SBA projects and practical examinations, with schools required to upload scores by October 31.

According to KNEC, the projects and practicals will be administered in second term, while written assessments will be conducted in third term. 

Further, the council has begun recruiting teachers to administer some Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams, starting with assessors for oral and practical components.