Thousands of candidates and parents were left frustrated on Friday morning after the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) results portal went down shortly after the official release of the 2025 KCSE results.
The portal, results.knec.ac.ke, became inaccessible around 11:30am, just minutes after Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba announced that candidates could begin checking their results online.
During the release ceremony, CS Ogamba directed learners and parents to access the KCSE results through the dedicated KNEC portal by entering their index number and one registered name. However, many users attempting to log in were met with error messages indicating that the site could not be reached.
Kenyans Express Frustration Online
As the portal remained down, several Kenyans took to social media to voice their frustrations, with many questioning KNEC’s preparedness for the heavy traffic that follows KCSE results releases every year.
Some candidates reported refreshing the page repeatedly without success, while others said the website failed to load entirely.
Heavy Traffic Blamed for Portal Downtime
The outage has been attributed to high traffic, as thousands of students, parents, and teachers attempted to access the single portal at the same time.
The online results system was first introduced during the 2023 KCSE release to ease access to examination results, alongside the traditional SMS method, which has also experienced congestion in previous years.
Alternative Way to Check KCSE 2025 Results
Candidates unable to access the portal can still check their results via SMS:
- Send your KCSE index number to 20076
- Each SMS costs Ksh25
Education officials advised candidates to remain patient, refresh the portal regularly, and clear their browser cache while waiting for the system to stabilise.
Key Highlights from 2025 KCSE Results
According to CS Ogamba:
- 993,226 candidates sat for the 2025 KCSE examinations
- 492,012 were male (49.54%)
- 501,214 were female (50.46%)
- 1,932 candidates scored an overall Grade A (plain)
- 270,715 candidates attained C+ and above, qualifying for direct university entry
Schools to Issue Official Result Slips
KNEC has also confirmed that schools will receive official printed result slips, and candidates facing challenges online are advised to collect their results directly from their schools if delays persist.
As the portal traffic eases, candidates are expected to gain access to their results gradually throughout the day.
