The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has announced that students whose 2024 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results were cancelled due to exam malpractice will have the opportunity to retake the exams in July 2025.
The decision benefits more than 840 candidates whose results were nullified after investigations confirmed their involvement in irregularities during the 2024 examinations
KNEC has also concluded investigations into 2,829 other candidates suspected of engaging in malpractice. This has led to the release of results for some schools previously withheld. However, further cancellations remain a possibility as the investigations progress.
Previously, students found guilty of cheating faced a two-year ban from retaking the exams, a policy strictly enforced under former Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha in 2019. However, KNEC Chief Executive David Njengere explained that the new decision to relax this rule takes into account the limited time remaining before the KCSE system phases out in 2027.
“This adjustment offers students found culpable of malpractice an opportunity to retake the exams just five months after their cancellation, a significant departure from the previous two-year ban,” Njengere said.
Njengere urged affected students to seize the opportunity to resit the exams, emphasizing that the KCSE system will be retired after the 2027 examinations.
“I wish to remind the public that the last KCSE examination will be administered in 2027. Any person wishing to repeat fully or partially should take advantage of the remaining chances to do so,” he said.