KNEC opens Grade 10 assessment registration, sets July 30 deadline

The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has opened the registration of Grade 10 learners on the Competency-Based Assessment (CBA) portal, setting July 30, 2026, as the deadline for all senior schools to complete the exercise.

In a notice to school principals, KNEC directed all institutions registered as senior school assessment centres to enrol their Grade 10 learners through the School-Based Assessment (SBA) portal in preparation for the first round of senior school assessments under the Competency-Based Education (CBE).

“Registered centres have been enabled to register Grade 10 learners on the portal for School-Based Assessment (SBA),” KNEC said.

The registration follows the completion of the registration of senior school assessment centres, which closed on May 22, 2026.

Only institutions that were successfully registered as senior school assessment centres on the KNEC CBA portal will be eligible to register learners for the assessments.

The exercise marks a critical stage in the implementation of the CBE, as the current Grade 10 learners form the pioneer cohort to transit to senior school.

According to KNEC, the registration is necessary to facilitate the administration of school-based assessments, which will comprise projects, practical assignments and written tests conducted within schools.

The projects and practical components will be administered between May and September, while the written assessment will be conducted during the third term and completed by October 2026.

Schools have been instructed to access the CBA portal using the new universal centre code generated during the registration of senior school assessment centres.

The code will serve as both the username and password for accessing the system.

KNEC said additional guidelines on the management of the assessments would be communicated to schools in due course.

Schools are supposed to upload learners’ scores promptly and maintain evidence of completed learner work for reporting and verification purposes.

The Grade 10 school-based assessments will form part of the broader assessment framework leading to the award of the Kenya Certificate of Basic Education (KCBE), which learners will sit at the end of Grade 12.

Under the CBE assessment structure, learners’ final KCBE scores will be derived from a combination of school-based assessments and the national summative examination administered in Grade 12.

The Grade 10 and Grade 11 school-based assessments will each contribute 15 per cent of the final KCBE score, accounting for a combined 30 per cent.

The Grade 12 summative assessment will carry the remaining 70 per cent.

The Grade 10 assessments also lay the groundwork for the piloting of the senior school summative assessment scheduled for 2027, when the pioneer CBE cohort advances to Grade 11.

Education stakeholders have closely monitored the rollout of senior school under CBE, with the assessment framework expected to play a central role in tracking learners’ competencies, practical skills and mastery of subjects over the three-year senior school cycle.

The registration exercise is therefore expected to provide KNEC with a comprehensive database of learners who will participate in the assessments and contribute to the transition towards the full implementation of the CBE evaluation system.