The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has announced new guidelines for the 2025 KPSEA and KJSEA examinations, introducing changes aimed at aligning assessment practices with the Competency-Based Curriculum.

In a statement issued on June 24, 2025, Knec said that candidates will now be required to shade answers in circles on Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets, departing from the previous method where learners used lines to mark their choices.

The council noted that the shift is meant to prepare learners for a more standardized and efficient assessment format.

“The Council posted KJSEA sample papers on the KNEC portal in January 2025 for schools to download and familiarize their learners with the new formats,” the statement read.

Knec confirmed that schools can now access sample examination papers, OMR sheets, and instructions for both the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) and Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) through the Competency-Based Assessment (CBA) portal.

To access the materials, schools must log into the CBA portal at https://cba.knec.ac.ke using their assessment centre credentials.

For KJSEA sample papers, schools are required to open the Grade 9 portal, click on “Instructions & Sample Papers” to view the available options, and use the download button next to the selected learning area.

For the KJSEA sample cover pages and KPSEA OMR sheets, users can access either the Grade 9 or Grade 6 portals, click on “Download Sample Cover Page and OMR,” and select from the following cover pages:
(a) 601 – English Language
(b) 602 – Kiswahili Lugha
(c) 606 – KSL

Each file can be downloaded individually by clicking the button next to the desired item.

Knec also reminded institutions to keep their login details confidential to avoid unauthorized access to sensitive assessment data, and to ensure they log out of the portal after use.