KJSEA 2026 Timetable, Paper by Paper: What to Revise the Night Before Each Exam (Revised KNEC Dates)

If you have searched for the KJSEA 2026 timetable, you probably want two things: the exact dates and session times, and a clear idea of what your Grade 9 candidate should be doing on the evening before each paper. This guide gives you both. The revised KNEC timetable is set out in full below, paper code by paper code, followed by a day-by-day walk through the week: what each paper looks like according to the KNEC 2025 sample papers, the three things worth rereading the night before, what goes into the bag, how the morning should run, and the one trap in each paper that costs candidates marks they already knew how to earn.

Information current as of Term 3, 2026. The dates and times here follow the revised timetable published by KNEC. Always confirm your child's centre, room and reporting time at the rehearsal and on the KNEC timetables page, because the official document overrides anything forwarded on WhatsApp. If the school gives a different local instruction for a particular session, the school's instruction wins on the day.

The revised KJSEA 2026 timetable in full

Twelve written papers across five days, in the order below. "Session" is the time the paper begins. Your child should be seated by the quarter hour before it: 8.15 a.m. for every morning paper, 10.55 a.m. or 11.15 a.m. for the late-morning papers, and 1.45 p.m. for the two afternoon papers.

The rehearsal on Friday 23 October is the day your child confirms the centre, the room, the seat and the routine. Treat it as compulsory. Three learning areas do not appear in the table as projects because the project components (911/1 Creative Arts and Sports, 912/2 Pre-Technical Studies and 906/2 Agriculture) were assessed between May and July and are already banked. What remains for those subjects is the written paper only. If you want the wider picture of how the year has been assessed, our KJSEA 2026 dates and scoring hub is kept updated week by week.

KNEC's rules for the assessment room

• Start and seating. First-session papers begin at 8.30 a.m. Candidates must be seated 15 minutes before every session, not only the first.
• No extra time. A paper that starts at 8.30 finishes at its published time regardless of when a candidate walked in.
• Ink. Written answers go in blue or black ink. Erasable pens are a risk not worth taking.
• Pencil. Pencil is for shading the multiple-choice answer sheet and for diagrams, and for nothing else.
• Mathematics. A non-programmable calculator is allowed in Paper 903, and only KNEC-printed mathematical tables may be used.
• Phones. Mobile phones and every other electronic communication device are prohibited in the centre. Leave them at home, not in the bag.

One scoring reminder before the week itself. The written papers carry 60 percent of the outcome and school-based assessment carries 40 percent; each of the nine learning areas is then reported out of 8 points, 72 in total. The 40 percent is already recorded. This week decides the 60. Our explainer on how the CBA weighting actually works walks through the arithmetic if you want it.

The KJSEA 2026 timetable as a five-day timeline

Seen as blocks on a clock, the week has a shape. The first three days end by early afternoon. The last two run to the mid-afternoon with three papers each. Plan meals, transport and rest around the shape, not around the first paper of each day.

Monday 26 October: English, Papers 901/1 and 901/2

The papers. In the KNEC 2025 sample papers, 901/1 English Language is 50 multiple-choice items worth 50 marks in 1 hour 40 minutes, which is two minutes per item. 901/2 Composition and Literary Analysis is five questions worth 50 marks in 1 hour 45 minutes: composition 15, oral literature 10, poetry 5, prose extract 10 and play 10. The two papers are separated by a one-hour gap from 10.10 to 11.10.

The night before (Sunday). Reread three things only: the layout features of each functional-writing format the class has practised (a letter's addresses, salutation and sign-off; a report's title and headings; a dialogue's speaker labels), the one-page summary of the play and the prose text the school has taught (characters, plot turns, themes and two quotable moments each), and the grammar checklist that multiple-choice papers lean on (tenses, subject-verb agreement, prepositions, punctuation, word classes). Then pack: two blue or black pens, two sharpened pencils, an eraser, a sharpener, a ruler, whatever identification the school specified at the rehearsal, and a bottle of water. Everything goes into the bag on Sunday night, not Monday morning.

The morning. Wake with enough margin for a proper breakfast, and leave so that your child is at the centre before 8.15 a.m., which for many families means leaving the house by 7.30. Between papers, eat something small, drink water, and do not compare answers with anyone: the 901/1 answers cannot be changed and the discussion only unsettles the 901/2 that follows. A single glance at the composition-planning template is the only revision that belongs in that hour. Our guide to exam anxiety has the breathing routine we suggest for the ten minutes before the door opens.

The trap: composition length and format. The composition is 15 marks and it is marked for what the question asked, not for effort. A beautiful piece that ignores the format (a formal letter with no addresses, a report with no title) leaves format marks on the table; a piece that is far too long steals minutes from four literature questions worth 35 marks between them. Spend five minutes planning, write to the length the class has practised, and keep the last three minutes for correcting spelling and tense. We break down exactly where those marks sit in where composition and functional writing marks actually sit. And in 901/1, shade every item: an unshaded item scores nothing at all.

Tuesday 27 October: Kiswahili, Papers 902/1 and 902/2

The papers. The KNEC 2025 sample papers give 902/1 Kiswahili Lugha the same shape as English: 50 multiple-choice items, 50 marks, 1 hour 40 minutes. 902/2 Insha na Utangulizi wa Fasihi is five questions for 50 marks in 1 hour 45 minutes: insha 15, fasihi simulizi 10, ushairi 5, prose extract 10 and tamthilia 10. Same one-hour gap between papers as Monday.

The night before (Monday evening). The candidate has already sat two papers, so keep it short. Reread the ngeli table and the verb-extension patterns that sarufi questions recycle; the structure and format of each insha type practised in class (barua rasmi, barua ya kirafiki, ripoti, hotuba, insha ya masimulizi, mahojiano), with the parts each one must carry; and the fasihi simulizi genres and the ushairi terms (vina, mizani, kibwagizo, kituo) as a single list. Pack exactly what was packed on Sunday, checked again, because pens run out on day one more often than families expect.

The morning. Repeat Monday to the minute. The body learns a routine quickly and the second day is easier when nothing changes. In the hour between papers, have your child pick one insha title from memory and plan it on scrap paper in five minutes: utangulizi, three points for the mwili, hitimisho. That is a rehearsal, not revision, and it settles the hand.

The trap: insha marks for structure. The insha carries 15 marks and a share of them reward structure and format rather than vocabulary. An insha with no clear introduction, body and conclusion, or a barua rasmi missing its anwani and mada, gives away marks that a plainer candidate keeps. The second trap is drifting away from the title after a strong opening. Our Kiswahili guide on how the insha is marked and where marks disappear is written in Kiswahili for the learner and is worth twenty minutes this week, not on Monday night.

Wednesday 28 October: Mathematics 903 and Agriculture 906/1

The papers. Mathematics 903 is the longest single paper of the week at 2 hours, 8.30 to 10.30. In the KNEC 2025 sample papers it has 20 multiple-choice items worth 20 marks and 20 structured questions worth 80 marks, 100 in total, with a calculator allowed. Agriculture 906/1 follows at 11.30 after an 80-minute gap: 30 multiple-choice items worth 30 marks plus structured questions worth 40, a 70-mark paper in 1 hour 40 minutes.

The night before (Tuesday evening). Reread the formula and units sheet (perimeter, area and volume formulas, Pythagoras, percentage and ratio methods, the angle facts, mean, median and mode, and the unit conversions between mm, cm, m and km), the error log from the last two timed Mathematics papers with the named sub-strands where marks went, and the labelled Agriculture diagrams and processes the class has drawn most often. Pack the calculator after testing that it switches on and that the battery is fresh, the full geometrical set (ruler, protractor, pair of compasses, set squares), pencils, pens and an eraser. A calculator that dies at 9.15 is the worst fixable disaster of the week.

The morning. Same routine, plus one check at the door: calculator on, calculator off. Inside, the pacing that works is 20 multiple-choice items in about 25 minutes, which leaves roughly 95 minutes for 20 structured questions, under five minutes each, with a few minutes to reread units at the end. Between papers the gap is 80 minutes: eat properly, because Agriculture at 11.30 is sat by a candidate who has already thought hard for two hours.

The trap: working and units. Eighty of the 100 marks are structured, and structured marks are given for method as well as for the final answer. An answer with no working can lose the method marks even when it is right, and a correct number with no unit (cm², km/h, KSH) loses the accuracy mark. Write every step, write the unit, and box the final answer. In Agriculture the trap is the command word: "state" wants a point, "explain" wants the point and the reason, and candidates who give one-word answers to "explain" questions leave half of each mark behind. The question types that come up every year are catalogued in our KJSEA Mathematics question types guide, and the timed 903 sets in the KJSEA Mathematics course use the exact 20 plus 20 structure and the two-hour limit so that the pacing above is already familiar by the day.

Thursday 29 October: Integrated Science 905/1, Social Studies 907 and Creative Arts and Sports 911/2

The papers. The heaviest day: three papers and 4 hours 50 minutes of writing. Integrated Science Paper 1 (905/1) at 8.30 is 30 multiple-choice items for 30 marks plus structured questions for 40, a 70-mark paper in 1 hour 40 minutes. Social Studies 907 at 11.10 runs 1 hour 30 minutes and is modelled on the same 30 plus 40 pattern in the published sample papers. Creative Arts and Sports 911/2 at 2.00 p.m. runs 1 hour 40 minutes on the same pattern, and it is the written half of a subject whose project was finished in July.

The night before (Wednesday evening). Reread the Integrated Science definitions list and the labelled diagrams the class has drawn most (they reappear as structured questions), the Social Studies map-work rules (how to convert a map distance to a ground distance using the scale, how to write a grid reference with eastings before northings, how to give a compass bearing), and the theory notes for Creative Arts and Sports, which is the paper most candidates never revise because they assume the project did the work. Pack a ruler and a sharp pencil for map work and diagrams, the usual pens and eraser, and, because the day runs to 3.40 p.m., a packed lunch and water.

The morning and the day. Two breaks: 10.10 to 11.10 and 12.40 to 2.00. The second break is for eating and fifteen minutes with eyes closed, not for a group post-mortem of the Social Studies map question. Fatigue is the real opponent on Thursday, and a candidate who has eaten and rested at 1.15 writes a better Creative Arts paper at 2.00 than one who spent the break talking.

The trap: the Social Studies map scale. Map-reading questions are where confident candidates lose the easiest marks. Measure the distance on the map with a ruler or a strip of paper, multiply by the scale, and state the answer in the unit the question asks for; a candidate who writes the map measurement as the answer, or converts to the wrong unit, scores nothing for a calculation they could do. Our Social Studies map work and sources guide works through the full method. In 905/1 the trap is the unit again (a force without newtons, a temperature without degrees), and in 911/2 it is simply not knowing the theory.

Friday 30 October: Pre-Technical Studies 912/1, Religious Education and Integrated Science 905/2

The papers. Pre-Technical Studies 912/1 at 8.30 runs 1 hour 40 minutes on the 30 plus 40 pattern; the project (912/2) was done in the May to July window. Religious Education at 11.10 is 908 CRE, 909 IRE or 910 HRE depending on your child's registration, 1 hour 30 minutes on the same pattern. The week closes with Integrated Science Paper 2 (905/2) at 2.00 p.m.: one hour, two practical-based questions of 20 marks each, 40 marks in total.

The night before (Thursday evening). This is the most tired evening of the week, so limit it to three short rereads: the Pre-Technical drawing conventions (line types, dimensioning, how an orthographic view and a pictorial sketch are laid out) together with the tool-and-safety list; the Religious Education command words and the scripture or hadith references the teacher listed as most likely; and the last two practical write-ups from Integrated Science, paying attention to how a results table is read, how a graph is plotted and labelled, and how a conclusion is worded. Pack two sharp HB pencils, a ruler and set square, an eraser, pens and water. Nothing about the packing changes because it is the last day.

The morning. Keep the routine identical. The temptation on Friday is to relax the timings because the end is near; the 8.15 seating rule does not know it is Friday. Between the second and third papers, eat, rest and look once at the practical write-up page, then close the book.

The traps: drawing neatness, command words, and reading the table. In 912/1, drawings are marked for the conventions, so faint construction lines, crisp final lines drawn with a ruler, and labels in pencil earn marks that a correct but scruffy freehand sketch does not. In Religious Education, "state" earns a mark per point, "explain" needs the point and its development, and "give reasons" needs reasons, not a description; candidates who write the same length of answer regardless of the command word lose marks in every question. In 905/2, both 20-mark questions are built around data or observations given on the page. Read the table before writing a word, answer from the data in front of you, and only then add what you remember. The KJSEA Integrated Science course pairs a 905/1 and a 905/2 in each of its two sets for exactly this reason: the second paper is a different skill, and it is the one most candidates have never sat under timing. Pre-Technical candidates can check the assessed strands in our Pre-Technical Studies assessment guide.

Take Achieng, a Grade 9 candidate in Kisumu: her Wednesday

Achieng is a composite of the learners we hear from, and Wednesday is the day her family planned most carefully because Mathematics is her weakest learning area. On Tuesday evening, after the two Kiswahili papers, she did nothing new. She reread her one-page formula sheet, then the error log from her last two timed 903 papers, which named two sub-strands where she kept losing marks, and finally the three Agriculture diagrams her teacher had drawn most often. Her mother tested the calculator, packed it with the geometrical set, two pencils and two pens, and the bag went by the door at 8 p.m. Lights out at 9.30.

She was seated at 8.12 a.m. She did the 20 multiple-choice items in 24 minutes, then worked through the structured questions writing every step and every unit, and used her last seven minutes to check that each answer carried a unit and that the boxed final answer matched the working. In the 80-minute gap she ate, drank, walked once around the compound, read her Agriculture diagram page one time, and stayed away from the group comparing answers to question 17. Agriculture ran 11.30 to 1.10. She was home by 2, slept for an hour, and did Thursday's three rereads before 8 p.m. Nothing about her Wednesday was heroic. It was a plan followed on a tired day, which is the whole point.

Where the 2026 predictive papers fit into this week

Did you know that the 2026 edition of every KJSEA Complete Revision Course now contains predictive papers built to this exact timetable? Each subject carries two complete sets in the KNEC paper code, sections, mark allocation and time allowed: two-paper subjects get a Paper 1 and a Paper 2 in each set, and Religious Education gets two CRE papers and one IRE paper. They are original practice items weighted towards the sub-strands most likely to be assessed, judged from the KICD designs, the KNEC 2025 sample papers and where learners lose marks. They are not official or leaked KNEC papers, and nobody can promise a grade from them. What they do is make the pacing in this article routine before the day.

Each course has three books: Full Notes covering every strand and sub-strand of Grades 7, 8 and 9, the Predictive Papers, and a separate Answer Booklet with marking schemes. A single subject is KSH 150, and the KJSEA all-nine-subjects bundle is KSH 400 instead of KSH 1,350 bought singly, with a Course Guide that carries this timetable and a seven-week plan. You can look before you buy at the free KJSEA preview. If your household is following the final eight-week countdown plan, week six is the week to sit the second set in timetable order.

Common mistakes in KJSEA week

• Learning new sub-strands the night before. Content that is not known by Sunday 25 October will not be known reliably by Monday morning, and the attempt costs sleep, which costs marks in every paper.
• Arriving at 8.30 for an 8.30 paper. The seating rule is 15 minutes early and there is no extra time. Build the journey around 8.15, then subtract another ten minutes for the matatu that does not come.
• Comparing answers between papers. The first paper is over. The second one is still to be sat by a candidate who now doubts three answers they cannot change.
• Answering in pencil, or shading in pen. Written answers are in blue or black ink; the multiple-choice sheet and the diagrams are in pencil. Mixing them up creates problems the candidate cannot fix from home.
• Forgetting the calculator battery and the geometrical set. Wednesday's 100-mark paper allows a calculator; the candidate whose calculator fails has to do two hours of arithmetic by hand.
• Treating Thursday and Friday like Monday. Three-paper days need lunch, water and a real rest in the 12.40 to 2.00 break. Families who plan only for the morning paper leave a hungry candidate sitting the afternoon one.
• Skipping the Creative Arts and Sports and Religious Education revision because they feel like soft papers. They each report out of the same 8 points as Mathematics.

For the full packing list and the week-before logistics, our parent's exam-prep checklist covers everything from identification to the emergency second pen.

Frequently asked questions about the KJSEA 2026 timetable

Has the KJSEA 2026 timetable changed?

Yes. KNEC issued a revised timetable. The written papers now run from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026, with the rehearsal on Friday 23 October. The project components of Creative Arts and Sports, Pre-Technical Studies and Agriculture were assessed between May and July and are done. Use the revised document on the KNEC timetables page, not an earlier version.

What time do KJSEA papers start, and when must my child be at the centre?

First-session papers start at 8.30 a.m. and candidates must be seated 15 minutes before every session, so 8.15 a.m. for morning papers. Late-morning papers start at 11.10 a.m. (11.30 a.m. on Wednesday) and the two afternoon papers start at 2.00 p.m. No extra time is added for late arrival.

Which KJSEA papers fall on the same day?

Monday is English (901/1 and 901/2), Tuesday is Kiswahili (902/1 and 902/2), Wednesday is Mathematics (903) and Agriculture (906/1), Thursday is Integrated Science Paper 1 (905/1), Social Studies (907) and Creative Arts and Sports (911/2), and Friday is Pre-Technical Studies (912/1), Religious Education (908, 909 or 910) and Integrated Science Paper 2 (905/2).

Can my child use a calculator in KJSEA Mathematics?

Yes. KNEC's instructions allow a non-programmable calculator in Mathematics, and only KNEC-printed mathematical tables may be used. Test the calculator the night before, and pack the full geometrical set as well.

What happens to the project marks for Agriculture, Pre-Technical Studies and Creative Arts and Sports?

The projects (906/2, 912/2 and 911/1) were assessed between May and July and their marks are already recorded. In the written week those three subjects appear only as written papers: 906/1 on Wednesday, 911/2 on Thursday and 912/1 on Friday.

How much do the written papers count towards the KJSEA result?

Written papers carry 60 percent and school-based assessment 40 percent. Each of the nine learning areas is reported out of 8 points, giving 72 in total. Our guide to reading the KJSEA result slip explains how those points are presented when results come out.

In summary

The revised KJSEA 2026 timetable gives your child twelve papers in five days, starting at 8.30 a.m. each morning from Monday 26 October and ending with Integrated Science Paper 2 at 3.00 p.m. on Friday 30 October. The week rewards the boring things: seated by 8.15, blue or black ink with pencil only for shading and diagrams, a tested calculator on Wednesday, lunch packed on Thursday and Friday, three short rereads each evening and an early night. The traps are known in advance too: format and length in the composition, structure in the insha, working and units in Mathematics, the map scale in Social Studies, neat drawing in Pre-Technical, command words in Religious Education, and reading the table before writing in the practical-based paper.

If you want the pacing above to feel routine before the day, the KJSEA Complete Bundle for all nine subjects gives your candidate two full sets of predictive papers per subject in these exact codes and timings, with the notes and a separate answer booklet, for KSH 400 by M-Pesa with instant download. And for the question that comes up at 8 p.m. on Tuesday when nobody at home remembers how ngeli agreement works, Somo, the CBC AI tutor, answers in the terms the curriculum uses, for KSH 300 a month with 30 questions a day. Follow the week on our KJSEA countdown page, and confirm every session time with your child's school.