The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has outlined the procedures Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) 2026 candidates should follow if they receive the wrong question paper, find printing errors, or notice discrepancies in their examination materials.
Candidates must confirm that the paper issued matches the subject they are registered to sit before answering any questions.
“Check the question paper you have been given to confirm that it is the paper you registered for,” KNEC explained.
Any discrepancy should be reported immediately to the supervisor or invigilator.
What Candidates Should Do If Given the Wrong Paper
Candidates who receive a question paper for a subject they are not registered to sit should stop and immediately notify the supervisor or invigilator.
They should not answer the paper before the discrepancy is resolved.
The candidate should raise their hand and explain the problem to the examination official. The supervisor should verify the paper against the candidate’s registered subjects and issue the correct examination material.
Candidates are also expected to check their question papers before beginning the examination to identify any errors that may require immediate attention.
KNEC Instructions on Faulty Question Papers
KNEC requires candidates to return question papers containing printing errors, smudges or other defects to the supervisor immediately.
Also Read: KNEC Spells Out Exam Room Instructions Candidates Must Follow as KCSE 2026 Nears
The council states in its examination instructions:
“You must return to the Supervisor any question paper that has smudges, errors or is badly printed immediately.”
Candidates should not attempt to correct printing errors themselves or continue using a faulty paper without notifying the supervisor.
They should also report missing pages or other problems with examination materials as soon as they are identified. This allows examination officials to investigate and address the issue before the candidate proceeds.
Consequences of Examination Irregularities
KNEC warned that examination irregularities can lead to the cancellation of results for an entire subject. Under its examination regulations, a candidate found to have committed an irregularity in any paper may lose the results for the whole subject.
“A candidate who commits an examination irregularity in any paper will have the examination results for the WHOLE SUBJECT cancelled,” the council stated.
Also Read: KCSE 2026: KNEC Unveils Anti-AI Cheating Measures as El Niño Threatens Exams
The regulations further state that such a candidate will not be entitled to a result for the subject and will receive an overall “Y”.
Candidates should therefore report any incorrectly issued question paper or printing defect immediately and follow the supervisor’s instructions.
The key requirement is to avoid answering a paper that does not match the registered subject. Promptly reporting the discrepancy gives examination officials an opportunity to verify the problem and take the necessary action.
Follow our WhatsApp Channel and X Account for real-time news updates.
