Uhuru Kenyatta appoints Julius Nyabundi as Kenya National Examinations Council chair

President Uhuru Kenyatta has appointed Maseno University Vice Chancellor, Professor Julius Nyabundi, as the new chair of the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC).

The appointment was announced in a Gazette Notice issued on Friday, July 8, 2022.

Professor Nyabundi will serve as the KNEC chair for a period of four years.

He has worked as Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (A&F) at Maseno University as well as Murang’a University College principal.

He has also previously served as the Managing Director of Chemelil Sugar Company.

The incoming KNEC chair holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and Master of Science in Agronomy from the University of Nairobi and a PhD in Ecology from the University of California.

He is a Professor in the Department of Horticulture at Maseno University.

Maseno University's Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Julius Nyabundi hosts newly elected student leaders at his office boardroom Pulse Live Kenya

Nyabundi will take over from Dr John Ondigo Onsati who was appointed following the naming of George Magoha as Education Cabinet Secretary in 2019.

He is also the holder of the Order of Grand Warrior(OGW) award in recognition of his outstanding and distinguished services rendered to the nation.

All eyes will be on Professor Nyabundi to oversee credible national examinations for KCSE and KCPE students at the end of the year.

READ: The price to pay in implementing the CBC curriculum

The council will also handle the first-ever Grade Six national examinations slated for November 2022.

According to KNEC Chief Executive Officer David Njegere, students will take a School-Based Assessment (SBA) test in their home institutions, which will be graded by their teachers.

They will then register for the national test when the evaluation's results have been submitted to the portal.

KNEC Chief Executive Officer David Njegere Pulse Live Kenya

After that, each student will be given an assessment number, which serves as the index number to sit the Kenya Intermediate Level Education Assessment (KILEA).

“Learners should be registered and assigned a number by KNEC. They should have undertaken School Based Assessment for the intermediate level and outcomes of at least one SBA uploaded on to the KNEC portal," the KNEC CEO explained.

Students will take five exams: Mathematics and English on the first day, Integrated Science and Kiswahili on the second, and Creative Arts and Social Studies on the third.

Sample KILEA exam papers will be released by the end of July to help school prepare their candidates for the first national exam under the Competency- Based Curriculum (CBC).