KNEC Launches Online Training For Examination Question Setters
The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) kicked off online training on Monday, October 12, for Senior School and vocational teachers, with a focus on writing assessment items under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system. The sessions run until October 30, 2026.
KNEC says the programme is meant to build teachers’ ability to craft good assessment questions, sharpen how learners’ competencies are judged, and keep national examination standards intact.
CEO David Njengere said the aim is to boost the skills of teachers and teacher educators in both classroom and national assessment.
Applications closed on September 30. Only teachers currently handling the subjects or learning areas they applied for, at Senior School or vocational level under the stage-based curriculum, were considered.
They needed the right academic and professional qualifications, a minimum of one year in the classroom, and Teachers Service Commission (TSC) registration. KNEC also asked for proof of integrity, a clean professional record, familiarity with the relevant curriculum designs, and a recommendation from the head of the applicant’s institution.
Anyone who has already been through KNEC item-writing training was left out. Those who finish this course will be certified and could be called on for assessment work whenever KNEC needs them.
CBE puts the spotlight on whether learners can apply what they know and show practical skills, not simply recall facts. That makes the quality of exam questions critical, since they must test the competencies set out in the curriculum designs and give a dependable picture of what learners have achieved.
KNEC is the body mandated to set and maintain national examination and assessment standards at school, post-school and teacher education levels.
The council is also gearing up for the 2026 examination season, expected to involve about 3.6 million candidates. The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) alone crossed the one-million mark for the first time, with 1.04 million candidates.
KNEC will further administer the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) for Grade 6 and the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) for Grade 9, while overseeing school-based assessments for Grade 10.
Looking ahead, nearly 1.13 million Grade 10 learners are due to join Grade 11 in January 2027. The first CBE senior school cohort will stay within the pathways they chose in Grade 10 as they head toward the Kenya Certificate of Basic Education (KCBE) in Grade 12.
Meanwhile, distribution of Grade 11 textbooks began on October 6 and will continue until December 23, with breaks during the national examinations, which start on October 23.
KNEC says the training forms part of a wider push to build assessment capacity as competency-based evaluation spreads across the levels of learning.
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