KNEC CBA Portal Guide for Teachers (2026) — Step-by-Step with May 29 Deadline

If you're a Kenyan Junior Secondary teacher or headteacher in 2026, you already know about it — the KNEC CBA portal at cba.knec.ac.ke. What you might not have is a clear, teacher-written walkthrough of how to actually use it without losing an afternoon to login screens and error messages. Here is that guide.

What the CBA portal actually is

The KNEC CBA (Competency-Based Assessment) Portal is the official Kenyan government system where schools submit School-Based Assessment scores and project records for learners in Grades 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9 (the last is where KJSEA data is tied in). It sits at cba.knec.ac.ke and is the only recognised upload destination — no private platform, no alternative.

Under CBC (now CBE), assessment is no longer a single big exam at the end — it's continuous. The portal is how that continuous assessment is captured nationally. For the KJSEA cohort, Grade 7-8 SBA scores contribute 20% of 40% (alongside 20% from KPSEA) to the final Grade 9 assessment. If your Grade 7-8 SBAs aren't accurately uploaded, your learners' final Grade 9 results are impacted.

Who needs to use the portal

• Headteachers / principals — primary account holders, responsible for school-level login and verification
• Grade 4 & 5 class teachers — upload Creative Arts, Science & Tech, Agriculture, Home Science and other project-based assessments
• Grade 7 & 8 subject teachers — upload SBA scores per learning area per term
• Grade 9 teachers — no standalone projects; their learners are preparing for KJSEA (the summative assessment is handled separately by KNEC at exam time)

Step 1: Logging in for the first time

1. Visit cba.knec.ac.ke in a modern browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge).
2. You'll see a school login page. Enter your KNEC school code (the 9-digit code assigned to your institution).
3. The default password for a first-time school is usually the KNEC school code itself. Your HT/principal should change this immediately after first login.
4. If the default doesn't work, your Sub-County Director of Education (SCDE) office holds the activation credentials — call the office directly.

Step 2: Grade 4 & 5 project uploads (the May 29 deadline)

KNEC released specific 2026 CBC guidelines for Grade 4 & 5 projects with a 29 May 2026 deadline. The upload covers project-based assessments across the term for these subjects (varies by school):

• Science & Technology project
• Creative Arts project
• Agriculture mini-project
• Home Science project
• Social Studies research task

For each learner, you'll upload:

1. The assessment tool (downloaded from the portal — use the official KNEC form)
2. The learner score against each criterion in the rubric
3. A teacher comment (2-3 sentences describing the learner's observed competency)
4. Evidence of the project (typically a description; some subjects may require a photograph of the physical project)

Do not rush through this on May 28. The portal slows under deadline load — plan uploads across the three weeks leading to 29 May.

Step 3: Grade 7 & 8 SBA score uploads

Grade 7 and 8 School-Based Assessments are the backbone of the KJSEA 40% pre-Grade-9 weighting. Each subject teacher handles their own learning area. The flow:

1. Log in using your assigned teacher account (or the school master account if you don't have your own).
2. Navigate to Grade 7 or Grade 8 → select your subject → select the term.
3. You'll see a list of learners enrolled in that grade. Enter scores against each assessment strand as directed by the KICD curriculum design for that subject.
4. Tick the "Save & Verify" button at the end of each page. The portal validates that all fields are completed before submitting.
5. The headteacher must confirm/lock the submission before it's treated as final. Teachers can't self-confirm.

Common error messages and how to fix them

Step 4: Verification after upload

After submission, always download the verification PDF that the portal generates. This is your proof of submission. Save a copy:

• On the school office computer
• On Google Drive (school account, not personal)
• Printed in the HT's assessment file

If the portal ever claims you didn't upload, that PDF is your evidence. Keep it for 5 years minimum.

How this feeds into KJSEA

Remember the KJSEA weighting:

• 20% from KPSEA (Grade 6)
• 20% from Grade 7 & 8 SBA (the scores you're uploading now)
• 60% from the KJSEA summative exam in Grade 9 (Oct–Nov 2026)

Your Grade 7 & 8 SBA uploads directly determine 20% of your learner's final KJSEA outcome. This is not paperwork — it's the score that influences Senior School placement.

What we can help you with

We build KICD-aligned lesson plans, schemes of work, CBA rubrics, and assessment papers for every subject at every JSS grade. If you're scrambling to generate SBA-ready materials, our Grade 7, Grade 8 and Grade 9 packs cover all subjects per term.

Specifically for SBA uploads you'll need:

• Grade 7 Assessment Rubrics — CBA-format BE/AE/ME/EE descriptors, one per strand
• Grade 8 Assessment Rubrics
• Grade 7 End-of-Term Exams with marking schemes — for teacher-assessed components
• Grade 8 End-of-Term Exams

KSH 40 per subject, M-Pesa Till 5310731, instant PDF download. A full subject rubric pack for a grade is typically KSH 400.

The teacher-to-teacher truth

The KNEC CBA portal is functional but unforgiving. Schools that organise early, assign responsibility per subject, and upload steadily across the term have no drama. Schools that try to do everything in the final week lose data, miss deadlines, and end up with unhappy parents when Grade 9 results flag "SBA missing" next year.

Build the habit now. Set a weekly 30-minute "CBA Upload Hour" — every Friday afternoon, each subject teacher updates their assigned learning area. By 29 May you're done before the deadline rush. By end of Grade 9, your learners' records are airtight.

Sources consulted: KNEC CBA Portal official site; Education News Kenya on the 29 May 2026 Grade 4-5 deadline; EduPoa 2026 schedule guide; Tuko KNEC portal guide; KNEC Grade 7 & 8 SBA documentation.