Thousands of would-be teachers who were referred in their diploma assessments have been thrown a lifeline: the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) will let them resit in January so they can still graduate in March 2027.

In a circular dated November 3, KNEC said registration for the supplementary assessments opens on November 9 and closes on December 15, 2026. The assessments themselves will run from January 18 to February 12, 2027.

KNEC said it acted on a formal request from the Kenya Teachers Colleges Principals Association, which asked for another chance for trainees referred in earlier assessments so they could meet the requirements for graduation.

Who can register

  • Trainees in the Diploma in Primary Teacher Education (DPTE), Diploma in Secondary Teacher Education (DSTE) and Diploma in Early Childhood Teacher Education (DECTE) who were referred in previous assessments.
  • Trainees in the Diploma in Teacher Education for Pre-Primary and Primary (DTE PP&P) and the DSTE who missed their July 2026 Year One and Year Two college-based assessments (CLBAs).

KNEC stressed that only trainees referred in previous assessments qualify in the resit category. Those registered must sit both the college-based and summative assessments according to their timetables, which will be issued after registration closes.

What it will cost

Each trainee will pay Sh7,200 in a single instalment through eCitizen, after principals generate invoices on the registration platform. Trainees referred in practicum, the classroom teaching component, will pay an extra Sh5,000.

By December 30, principals must submit signed nominal rolls, medical reports for trainees living with disabilities and proof of payment to KNEC's Teacher Education Assessments Management Services Department at New Mitihani House in South C.

Colleges with fewer than five trainees cannot run as independent assessment centres and must register their candidates through KNEC-approved colleges with larger numbers.

Behind the resits

The Kenya Times reported that 9,792 of the 25,098 candidates who sat the DPTE final examination, about 39 per cent, were referred, meaning nearly two in every five did not meet the requirements. Teachers had complained that some school-based assessment tasks were too advanced.

Meanwhile, this year's DSTE summative assessments, which began on October 26, run until November 6 on KNEC's online teacher education assessment system.

For trainees who miss this window, the stakes are high: without clearing their papers, they cannot graduate in March and move on to teaching.

Photos: Kenyans.co.ke/KNEC (KNEC offices); UNESCO/Gary Fullerton via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO) (teaching practice, Nairobi). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.