The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) is the national body responsible for overseeing national examinations in Kenya, it is established under the Kenya National Examinations Council Act Cap 225A of the Laws of Kenya, in 1980. In 2012 this act was repealed and replaced with KNEC Act No.29 of 2012.
The KNEC was established to conduct school, post-school and other examinations after the dissolution of East African Examinations Council and the Ministry of Education (EAEC and ME). After the dissolution of EAEC and the ME the Kenya National Examinations Council took the roles of ensuring validity and reliability of examinations; and to ensure conformity to Kenya’s goals and changes in government policy relating to the curriculum and examinations
The mandate of KNEC is outlined in Section 10 of KNEC Act No. 29 of 2012 as to
- Set and maintain examinations standards
- Conduct public academic, technical and other national examinations within Kenya at basic and tertiary levels
- Award certificates or diplomas to candidates in such examinations. (Such certificates or diplomas, shall not be withheld from the candidate by any person or institution)
- Confirm the authenticity of certificates or diplomas issued by the Council upon request by the government, public institutions, learning institutions, employers and other interested parties
- Undertake research on educational assessment
- Advice any public institution on the development and use of any system or assessment when requested to do so, and in accordance with such terms and conditions as shall be mutually agreed between the Council and the public institutions
- Promote the international recognition of qualifications conferred by the Council
- Advice the Government on any policy decision that is relevant to, or has implications on the functions of the Council or the administration of examinations in Kenya
- Do anything incidental or conducive to the performance of the preceding functions
KNEC Core Functions
- Develop examination policies, procedures and regulations
- Develop national examinations
- Register candidates for the KNEC examinations
- Conduct examinations and process the results
- Award certificates and diplomas to successful candidates
- Conduct research on educational assessment
- Carry out equation of certificates and diplomas issued by other credible examining boards
- Conduct examinations on behalf of foreign examination boards
- Advise the Government on matters pertaining to examinations and certification.
KNEC Core Values
- Accountability – Responsible for decisions and actions, including stewardship of public resources and performance through clarity of responsibilities and roles;
- Integrity – Committed to acting in an honest, fair, accountable and transparent manner in all our operations;
- Team spirit – Embrace collaboration both within the Council and with all partners in the provision of services
- Professionalism – Committed to the highest levels of achievement obtainable through competence and critical skills;
- Inclusiveness – committed to embrace equity in relevant KNEC operations
- Quality customer service – Putting the Customer first and offering services that exceed customer expectations
- Innovativeness – Committed to creativity in delivering on the core mandate and responding to changing market demand.