Some 1.93 million candidates have registered for this year’s national tests, Kenya National Examination Council data shows.
Knec said that 1,187,517 registered for the KCPE while 751,150 for the KCSE exams at the end of the process last week.
This means this year's national tests will attract about 300,000 more than last year's 1.6 million.
Knec chairperson Mercy Karogo on Tuesday told the Star that preparations for the test are currently underway.
Karogo said that the government will pay the examination registration fee for all learners in private and public institutions as it has been in the last three years.
The tests are set for the third term which begins on August 31.
To enable proper preparation for the examinations, there will be no half-term.
KCPE will run from November 2 to November 5 while KCSE examinations will start on November 6 and end on November 30.
“By taking lessons from the previous years, the ministry of education has made strong preparation to have a secure pre and during the examination,” Karogo said.
She also advised students not to be distracted by any false allegations and told parents and teachers to protect them from misinformation.
Karogo noted that the examination council is doing its best to ensure that the examinations are free of malpractice.
The examinations will be the fifth in a row to be administered under the strict measures to prevent cheating adopted in 2016.
“We are doing all that is required of us to prepare and protect the examinations. We urge parents and candidates not to be duped into purchasing examination papers poised as leaks as the time to sit the test approaches,” Karogo said.
Announcing the 2019 KCSE results in December, Education CS George Magoha said 1,309 candidates had had their results cancelled.
The exam irregularities recorded included possession of mobile phones, carrying unauthorised materials to examination rooms and collusion.
Of those cancelled, 1,158 engaged in collusion, 101 were found with unauthorised materials in the exam room while 47 had mobile phones.
Two candidates will miss their results for impersonation while another caused disturbance, hence the cancellation of their results.
According to CS Magoha, during the exam period, close to 100 mobile phones were collected from various examination centres.
