Kenya has introduced tighter measures to safeguard the integrity of the 2026 national examinations and assessments, with more than 3.6 million candidates expected to sit the tests beginning this month.
According to a report by the Daily Nation on Tuesday, October 6, a total of 3,634,846 candidates have registered for the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).
The increased number of candidates has prompted education authorities to strengthen security and examination management procedures as the country prepares for one of the largest examination cycles in its history.
Officials involved in handling examination materials are expected to undergo mandatory briefing sessions as part of measures aimed at preventing malpractice and protecting the credibility of the assessments.
The new arrangements will also include tighter security measures and examination papers containing unique features designed to improve tracking and accountability.
The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has also outlined specific personnel requirements for managing the examinations.
For the KCSE, the examination will involve 10,765 centre managers, 12,274 supervisors, 57,432 invigilators and 21,388 security officers, alongside 2,694 other personnel.
The KPSEA will have 27,271 supervisors, while the KJSEA will be overseen by 24,860 supervisors.
The report further indicates that the number of candidates sitting the assessments has risen across the different education levels.
KPSEA has registered 1,380,463 learners, up from 1,298,089 in 2025. KJSEA registration has increased to 1,206,028 learners, compared with 1,130,679 last year.
Meanwhile, KCSE registration has reached 1,048,355 candidates, up from 996,078 candidates in the previous examination cycle.
The examinations will also require an additional 130,633 invigilators and 6,215 supervisors to be deployed across the country during the two examination periods.
Education authorities are expected to maintain strict controls throughout the examination period, with officials being held responsible for ensuring that examination materials are handled securely.
The measures come as Kenya seeks to prevent examination cheating, leakage of papers and other forms of malpractice that could undermine confidence in national assessments.
The tougher regulations are therefore expected to place greater responsibility on candidates, teachers, examination officials and security personnel to ensure the 2026 examinations are conducted fairly and securely.