Julius Ogamba, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, has dismissed claims that results from the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) can be manipulated.
Speaking before the Senate plenary on Wednesday, the CS defended the credibility of the assessment system, insisting that the results released by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) are accurate and reliable.
CS Responds to Senate Concerns
Ogamba was responding to concerns raised by Tom Ojienda, the Senator for Kisumu, who sought clarification regarding the integrity of the assessment results.
The Education CS explained that the KJSEA is designed to evaluate learners based on competency rather than ranking them through traditional aggregate scores.
“KJSEA is a competency-based summative assessment administered at the end of Grade Nine to identify learners’ strengths, aptitudes and interests rather than to rank students,” Ogamba told senators.
According to him, the evaluation categorizes learners into four performance levels: exceeding expectations, meeting expectations, approaching expectations, and below expectations.
Measures to Protect Exam Integrity
Ogamba emphasized that several quality assurance mechanisms are in place to protect the credibility of national assessments. These include:
Pilot testing of examination papers
Automated scoring systems
Deployment of supervisors and invigilators during exams
Validation of scores before results are released
He also noted that schools access the Competency-Based Assessment (CBA) portal, which helps manage school-based assessments and provides a digital platform for reporting learners’ performance.
How Grade 9 Results Are Calculated
The CS explained that the final Grade 9 performance rating is calculated using three components:
20% from the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) taken in Grade 6
20% from School-Based Assessments
60% from the KJSEA examination
Focus on Talent Development
Ogamba also told senators that the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) encourages learners to participate in co-curricular activities.
He noted that inter-school sports competitions, as well as music and drama festivals, play a key role in identifying and nurturing students’ talents.
Earlier, the Ministry of Education released the examination timetable for the 2026 KPSEA, KJSEA, and KCSE exams and assured candidates of a fair and transparent process.
Teachers and students were urged to follow the guidelines issued by the ministry.
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Education