Candidates at Manyatta Primary School in Kisumu County take their Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) exam paper in October 29, 2024.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has issued fresh guidelines on the recruitment of teachers who will oversee the administration of national examinations next month.
Grade Six learners are preparing for the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), while those in Grade 9 will undertake the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA).
Form Four candidates are preparing for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).
According to a circular by TSC acting CEO Evaleen Mitei to regional directors, the examinations will be conducted between October 21 and November 21, 2025, with rehearsals scheduled a few days earlier.
Evaleen Jesang Mitei, the newly-appointed acting CEO of the Teachers Service Commission.
The guidelines stipulate that all nominated personnel must be registered in the CP2 system by September 26, 2025, and must be qualified, employed, and registered teachers with the commission.
Those recruited will not be allowed to serve in schools with which they have been affiliated in the past three years.
Examination centres hosting both KJSEA and KPSEA candidates will be allocated independent supervisors for each assessment, provided each assessment has at least 30 candidates. One invigilator will be deployed for every 20 candidates.
For KJSEA, supervisors must be serving secondary school teachers with at least a diploma in education, while primary or junior school teachers must have three years’ teaching experience and prior national exam supervision.
Invigilators must be serving primary school teachers with at least three years’ experience. KPSEA supervisors must be primary school teachers with at least three years’ experience and prior invigilation experience.
Teachers must also declare any vested interest in their posted centres.
“No supervisor or invigilator will be deployed in a school they have served in the last three years. The CP2 system has been configured to this effect.
Supervisors and invigilators should not be deployed to centres in which they have vested interest. They will be required to declare interest in the examination centre they are posted to.
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To this end, Knec will email the declaration form to sub-county directors, who will share it with all centre managers,” the circular reads.
For KCSE, supervisors must be serving secondary school teachers with at least a diploma in education, preferably senior teachers or heads of department, while invigilators must be primary school teachers with a minimum of three years’ experience.
“Supervisors and invigilators confirmed to have interest in the centres they are posted to should be redeployed to different centres. Centre managers, who should also declare interest, will then submit the forms to Knec together with the attendance register.
"Centre managers will be required to verify the supervisors and invigilators posted to their centres by confirming their details and workstations,” the circular further notes.
To tighten accountability, the guidelines stipulate that KCSE supervisors will be rotated on a weekly basis.
“The outgoing supervisor must prepare brief handing-over notes for the incoming supervisor,” it reads.
In addition, during KCSE oral and practical papers, only supervisors will be present at the examination centres — a measure the TSC says is aimed at minimising unnecessary personnel presence and safeguarding the integrity of the examinations.
The guidelines further state that for every 200 candidates, one supervisor will be deployed, while hosted centres will not have separate supervisors.
For learners under the stage-based pathway, teachers will invigilate their own pupils at a ratio of one invigilator for every 10 learners. No supervisors or centre managers will be deployed for KILEA and KPLEA centres.
Special provisions have also been made for visually impaired candidates.
“Centres with candidates who are touch readers (blind) should have at least one invigilator conversant with Braille,” the guidelines state.
Both hosted and hosting institutions will have their own centre managers, though hosting managers will be responsible for collecting and returning examination materials.
“These measures are designed to ensure transparency, fairness, and credibility in the management of this year’s examinations,” TSC noted.
The commission emphasised that invigilators must be serving primary or junior school teachers employed or registered with the TSC and with a minimum of three years’ teaching experience. Supervisors must have at least five years’ experience and prior national examination invigilation.
