Kenya Certificate of Primary Education

The Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) is a certificate given to students after finishing the approved eight-year course in primary education in Kenya. The examination is supervised by the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC), an examining body in Kenya under the Ministry of Education.

The maximum mark that a candidate can score is 500 in the 5 subjects being examined. The subjects examined include Maths, Swahili, English, Social Studies and Science and Religious Studies (Christian/Islamic/Hindu).  Social Studies includes a bit of Kenyan History, Civil education, current County system of government as well as all the Religious Studies.

Due to the limited places in Kenyan High Schools, these exams are used to determine which high school students will be eligible to join. Many students however do not join secondary school because they are unable to afford the fees.

The exam time runs from the second week of November and takes four days. Marking of written scripts (that is the Swahili Insha and the English Composition) is done over the December holidays. Results are then announced by the Minister for Education some three or four days after Christmas day.