KNEC Releases Monday Timetable and Tightens KCSE Exam Rules

The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) announced the schedule for Monday November 2, 2026 as the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations entered their third week.

The timetable shows the English Functional Skills paper will run from 8am to 10am, with Braille and hearing-impaired candidates given until 10.30am, followed by a break until the afternoon session.

The afternoon session will see the Chemistry paper from 2pm to 4pm, after which the day’s papers will be completed.

KNEC Chief Executive Officer David Njengere reminded centre managers that examination containers must be opened at 7am and that all mobile phones must be switched off and stored in lockable lockers outside examination rooms.

Njengere also instructed managers to keep weekly approved lists of authorised personnel, each required to present original national identity cards, and to prohibit candidates from wearing any wristwatches, directing schools to provide wall clocks in every room.

The council expanded its ban on personal electronics to include tablets, laptops, Bluetooth earphones, recording devices and programmable calculators, while allowing approved non-programmable scientific calculators where the paper permits.

For e-assessments, computers may be used only with authorised equipment supplied by the centre in line with KNEC requirements.

Interior and National Administration Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo warned candidates, parents and teachers against individuals promising illegal access to examination papers, noting that such fraud could lead to legal consequences as authorities intensify efforts to protect the integrity of the 2026 KCSE examinations.