Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba stated in January 2025 that students who were dissatisfied with their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) would be allowed to retake the exams in July 2025 administered by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC).
Speaking during the release of KCSE 2024 results, Ogamba announced that the KCSE mid-year exam series set to be introduced this year will accommodate students who miss exams or wish to retake them.
The decision is also set to benefit over 840 candidates whose results were nullified after investigations confirmed their involvement in malpractice during the 2024 KCSE examinations.
“Starting this year and following extensive stakeholder consultations, I wish to announce that KNEC will introduce a mid-year series of the KCSE examination to be administered in July every year,” Ogamba said.
KNEC has since released the guidelines regarding the conduct and administration of the 2025 KCSE July series examination.
KNEC announces registration of candidates for the July series
According to the examining body, the registration period for the July series will commence on Monday, January 27, and end on Friday, February 21, 2025.
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The registration process will be coordinated and conducted at County headquarters through the offices of County Directors of Education (CDEs) on the KNEC registration portal.
“Candidates wishing to register for the July series are therefore expected to present themselves at their respective County headquarters within the stipulated period to complete the registration process,” said KNEC.
Eligibility for the KCSE examination- KNEC
The existing regulations on registration of KCSE examination candidates shall apply as stipulated in the ‘Revised Regulations and the User Guide for Management of the KCSE 2024 examination’ and only eligible candidates shall be allowed to register.
According to KNEC, the July series will target the listed categories of candidates which include repeaters (candidates who have sat the KCSE examination in previous years), wishing to improve on their grade.
This includes full repeaters (registering for seven or more subjects) or partial repeaters (registering for less than seven subjects).
“Any candidate wishing to repeat (full repeaters or partial repeaters) will be allowed to do so, regardless of the year they sat their KCSE examination, as long as there is proof of having registered for KCSE examination previously,” said KNEC in the circular.
On the other hand, candidates who had registered for KCSE examination but were unable to sit the examination due to unforeseen circumstances such as sickness, and adult learners who are not in regular schools but have proof of the requisite primary education qualifications, are also eligible for the retake exams.
All repeaters and private candidates must register for the July series and not the November KCSE examination series.
Candidates will be required to present original and copies of several documents which are mandatory for successful registration.
These include statutory identification documents (National Identity (ID) card/Birth Certificate/Passport), the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination certificate, KCSE examination result slip/certificate for repeaters, and a soft copy of the candidate’s passport photograph.
Instructions to education officers
Education officers in charge of registration of private candidates have been directed to ensure that all eligible candidates download, fill in and submit the Private Candidate’s Registration Form and all other required documents.
They must ensure that the candidates upload their correct passport size photographs (300 x 300 pixels) as there will be no replacement/changing of photographs once the registration period is over.
Also, they must ensure that the candidates adhere to all registration requirements as stipulated in the circular and related guidelines.
All candidates- on their part must: adhere to the laid down regulations on subject entry requirements for grading (subject clusters) as stipulated in the Revised Regulations for KCSE 2024 examination and ensure that the registration data presented is accurate and error-free.
Registration fees
KNEC has announced that the fees payable will be Ksh7,200 and shall be borne by the candidate.
The fees shall be paid at the point of registration through E-Citizen, as per the details provided in the KNEC registration platform.
“Please note that fee payment is mandatory for successful registration,” the council highlighted.
Examination Timetable
The examining council has also issued a timetable for the KCSE examination July series.
Projects for Art and Design (442); Agriculture (443); Woodwork (444); Metalwork (445); Building Construction (446); and Computer Studies (451) will be administered between January and July 2025, while theory and practical papers will be administered from 1July 1 to August 1, 2025.
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The candidates will sit for the regular KCSE examination papers in examination centers to be identified by the County Directors of Education.
Candidates will only be allowed access into examination centers upon proof of their eligibility, including use of National Identity card/ birth certificate/ passport.
Venue
The theory and practical papers will be administered at County headquarters, while projects will be administered at sub-county level, in institutions to be identified by the respective SCDEs.
In this regard, all July series candidates registering for the subjects which have a project component (listed in 4.0) are expected to provide information on the sub-county where they will do their projects from, during registration.
In addition, the candidates are expected to present themselves to their respective SCDEs’ offices immediately after registration, to be assigned a centre for undertaking their projects.
Grading and Certification of candidates
The candidates will address all their registration related issues through the CDEs’ offices where they will have registered from.
It is the responsibility of the candidates to follow up with their respective contact offices to ensure that they are duly registered, confirm accuracy of their registration data and get information on the venue(s) for rehearsals and administration of the examination.
The candidates sitting the July series will be graded and certified in adherence to the existing regulations for the KCSE examination.
KCSE examination certificates will be issued to candidates who repeat in seven subjects or more while candidates repeating less than seven subjects will be issued with a result slip for the subjects, they will have repeated as per the existing regulations for the national examination.
“Please note that the KNEC Registration portal for the July series shall be closed on Friday, 21st February 2025 and there will be NO provision for late registration of candidates once the portal is closed,” KNEC added.
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