High Court Blocks KNEC From Administering KCSE Repeat Exams
The legal challenge comes after KNEC issued guidelines on the conduct and administration of the 2025 KCSE July series examination
Viral Tea Ke Writer 
UPDATE: The High Court has temporarily barred the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) from administering the mid-year Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams.
The July exam was intended for repeat candidates looking to improve their grades, with full repeaters taking seven or more subjects and partial repeaters taking fewer than seven. However, the court temporarily suspended the process following a petition by Nakuru-based doctor Magare Gikenyi, who challenged the decision, citing a lack of public participation.
“The application has met the threshold for granting of conservatory orders at this stage. I proceed to issue conservatory orders…to preserve the subject matter pending interpartes hearing,” Kisii High Court Lady Justice Odera Teresa Achieng ruled.
The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) is facing a lawsuit over the planned administration of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams scheduled for July 2025.
The legal challenge comes after KNEC issued guidelines on the conduct and administration of the 2025 KCSE July series examination, applicable to those who want to retake the exams, including the 2024 edition.
In the petition, Nakuru-based surgeon Dr Magare Gikenyi is seeking to halt the exams, arguing that introducing a mid-year KCSE exam series infringes on students' rights and unfairly affects both learners and exam integrity.
Dr Gikenyi, a private citizen known for taking on the government's policies head-on, particularly those newly introduced, wants the tests halted as they were introduced without public participation, claiming that no stakeholders were involved in the process.
Dr Benjamin Magare Gikenyi during a past press briefing. /MTAA WANGU
He further noted that the guidelines created two distinct categories of candidates: one sitting for the exams in July with limited preparation time and another in November with a longer revision period.
Gikenyi contended that this distinction was unjustified and contravened Article 27, in conjunction with Articles 24, 10, 73, and 75 of the Constitution.
Additionally, he pointed out that national exams have traditionally been held in November, fostering a legitimate expectation among students that they would have the opportunity to retake the exams if they did not pass.
“Changing the exam dates abruptly without consulting affected learners, parents, and stakeholders goes against the legitimate expectations of the candidates and their right to fair administrative action,” the court documents read.
The petition is likely to disrupt the plans of those who wish to undertake the upcoming exams. It comes despite KNEC rolling out registration for the exams on Monday, January 27 running for close to a month until Friday, February 21, 2025. The registration process will be coordinated and conducted at County headquarters through the offices of County Directors of Education (CDES) on the KNEC registration portal.
The exam series is a new intervention by the Ministry of Education that will give Kenyans who want to retake the exams an early opportunity. This includes repeaters (candidates who have sat the KCSE examination in previous years) who wish to improve their grades. Full repeaters (registering for seven or more subjects) and partial repeaters (registering for less than seven subjects) are included.
Candidates who registered for the KCSE examination but were unable to sit due to unforeseen circumstances, such as sickness, are also eligible for this exam series. These include adult learners who are not in regular schools but have proof of the requisite primary education qualifications.
Notwithstanding, the exams are set to start this month, with Projects for Art and Design, Agriculture, Woodwork, Metalwork, Building Construction, and Computer Studies being administered between January and July 2025. Theory and practical papers will be administered from July 1 to August 1, 2025.
