The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission will smoke out those seeking elective posts with fake academic qualifications.
On Thursday, IEBC and Kenya National Qualification Authority officials said they will partner to ensure only valid and genuine qualifications are used in the electoral process.
The authority boasts of a database that will be a one-stop-shop for all genuine qualifications in the country. The database will contain information from all sectors on the education and training system, chairman KNQA Kilemi Mwiria said.
According to the KNQF Act, the authority is mandated to maintain a national database of national qualifications and competences, provide for recognition of national and foreign qualifications, establish standards for harmonisation of qualifications and build confidence in the national qualification system.
Mwiria noted that the authority sought to bring order in the education sector by ensuring all qualifications possessed by Kenyans are genuine.
"We are here to seek collaboration so any candidates who will be seeking elective positions have their academic certificates vetted. We have the required expertise to handle the vetting of the academic documents,” Mwiria said during the meeting at Anniversary Towers, Nairobi.
The efforts come ahead of the 2022 general election. Notable personalities in elective offices as high as those of governors have been embroiled in court battles over the eligibility of their academic papers.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission in November 2017 probed the eligibility of Meru Senator Mithika Linturi, a matter that saw the University of Nairobi revoke his law degree.
In 2018, Kenyatta University also disowned degree papers of Taita Taveta Governor Granton Samboja.
IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati said they are ready to work with the authority to eliminate academic fraud among aspirants.
“We will be happy to work together to address the issue of fake academic qualifications by candidates seeking elective positions,” Chebukati said.
He said close to 20,000 candidates are expected to contest various elective positions in the 2022 polls.
KNQA director general Juma Mukhwana said without giving proof that a third of Kenyans have fake academic documents, hence the need to take action against such individuals.
He said the authority is working together with learning institutions to ensure learners are admitted to programmes they qualify to study.
“We are working together with universities, TVET and foreign institutions to ensure the country has genuine and quality qualifications,” Mukhwana said.
A law requiring candidates seeking to contest for MP and MCA seats to have a university degree qualification is expected to take effect during the 2022 general election.
