Kenya’s National Examinations Council (KNEC) has formally launched its long-anticipated computer-based testing pilot for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination, deploying the system across selected schools in five counties as part of a phased transition that officials say will reshape the country’s assessment landscape by 2028.
The pilot, which began in July 2026, covers schools in Nairobi, Kisumu, Mombasa, Nakuru, and Eldoret — counties selected for their relatively advanced ICT infrastructure and proximity to technical support hubs. Approximately 12,000 Form Four students are participating in the trial, sitting adaptive digital assessments in subjects including Mathematics, Biology, and Business Studies.
Technology at the Heart of the Reform
KNEC Chief Executive Officer Dr. David Njengere described the rollout as “the most consequential reform to Kenya’s examination system since the introduction of the 8-4-4 curriculum in 1985.” Speaking at a launch ceremony in Nairobi’s Upper Hill, Dr. Njengere said the digital platform would eliminate examination leakages — a problem that has plagued the KCSE for years — by generating randomised question sets for each candidate drawn from a secure, encrypted item bank.
“We have invested Ksh 3.2 billion in this infrastructure over the past two years,” he said. “Every testing centre is equipped with ruggedised laptops, back-up power systems, and offline-capable software that synchronises results the moment connectivity is restored. We are not leaving anything to chance.”
The system uses biometric authentication — fingerprint scanning and facial recognition — to verify candidate identity at login, a measure that KNEC says will also combat impersonation, which its internal audit identified as responsible for a significant share of examination irregularities in the 2024 and 2025 KCSE cycles.
Equity Concerns and Infrastructure Gaps
Not everyone is celebrating. The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General Collins Oyuu cautioned that the pilot’s geographic concentration risks widening the digital divide between well-resourced urban schools and rural institutions that still lack reliable electricity. “Nairobi and Kisumu are not Kenya,” Oyuu told a press briefing in Nairobi. “We have sub-counties in Turkana, Mandera, and West Pokot where students have never touched a computer. If we rush this nationally by 2028, we risk a two-tier examination system.”
The Ministry of Education has acknowledged the infrastructure challenge and points to the ongoing rollout of the government’s Connectivity for Learning Programme, which is installing solar-powered computer labs in 8,000 public schools nationwide, partially funded through a World Bank credit facility of USD 250 million approved in late 2025. Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba told parliament’s Education Committee in June that at least 70 per cent of public secondary schools would meet the minimum technical threshold for digital testing by the end of 2027.
The pilot comes against the backdrop of President Ruto’s administration’s broader Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) transition, which is now delivering its first cohort of Junior Secondary students into Senior Secondary School. The new CBC pathway, unlike 8-4-4, is designed around project-based and practical assessment — making digital testing a more natural fit.
Student and Teacher Reactions
Students at Nairobi’s Upperhill Secondary, one of the pilot schools, reported mixed but broadly positive reactions. “The typing speed was the hardest part at first,” said Form Four student Aisha Wangari, 17. “But the system gives you more time to edit your answers and I liked that I could flag questions to come back to.”
Teachers have received a ten-day orientation programme designed and delivered jointly by KNEC and Safaricom’s Digifarm education unit, which is providing technical support under a public-private partnership. Results from the pilot assessments are expected to be analysed and published in a technical report by October 2026, which will inform KNEC’s decision on whether to expand the programme to an additional 15 counties in 2027.
If the timeline holds, Kenya would join a small cohort of African nations — including Rwanda and Mauritius — that have successfully implemented computer-based national examinations at scale. For a government facing criticism over austerity cuts linked to its IMF programme, a credible, leak-proof examination system would represent a politically valuable win ahead of the 2027 general election.
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