The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has kicked off the recruitment of teachers and tutors who will train as examiners for the 2026 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA), setting in motion another key phase in the administration of this year's national examinations.
In a notice issued on July 10, the council said the examiner training will be carried out between July and August through a two-stage programme. The exercise will begin with online learning before successful applicants proceed to residential training at centres that will be announced later.
"The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) will conduct training of examiners for Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination between July and August 2026," the council said in the notice.
KNEC said only shortlisted applicants will be required to pay a training fee of Sh10,500. Instructions on how to make the payment will be shared through SMS and the KNEC application portal.
The council added that teachers who complete the training will be considered for recruitment as examiners to mark KCSE and KJSEA papers, depending on the number of examiners required in each subject.
"Qualified examiners will thereafter be engaged by KNEC to mark KJSEA and KCSE papers using the criteria for recruitment of examiners based on the personnel needs for each paper," the notice states.
For KJSEA, vacancies are available in English, Kiswahili, Mathematics, Integrated Science, Agriculture, Social Studies, Christian Religious Education, Creative Arts and Sports, and Pre-Technical Studies. Teachers with Special Needs Education (SNE) qualifications have also been encouraged to apply for suitable papers.
For KCSE, KNEC is recruiting examiners for Kiswahili, Biology Practical, Islamic Religious Education, Computer Studies, French, German, Arabic and various Special Needs Education subject combinations.
The council said applicants must be practising teachers or tutors handling the subjects they wish to examine and must be registered or employed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) or the Public Service Commission (PSC).
Applicants are also required to have at least a Diploma in Education, a minimum of three years' teaching experience and be aged 50 years or below. They must not be facing disciplinary action and should have a recommendation from the head of their institution.
Interested teachers have been asked to submit their applications through the KNEC examiners' portal. Existing users should log in using their CP2 accounts, while first-time applicants are required to create an account before submitting their applications.
KNEC cautioned that "only qualified teachers/tutors who have presented all the required documents will be shortlisted for the exercise on a first-come, first-served basis."