• PSC said an authentication exercise conducted in October 2022 across 331 institutions found that 2,067 officers secured jobs or promotions using fake papers.
• Some 787 officers in Ministries, State Departments and Agencies, including universities and tertiary institutions, were found culpable.
Implementation of Recognition of Prior Learning policy is the best remedy to the problem of fake academic certificates, acting director general of the Kenya National Qualifications Authority has said.
RPL is the process of identifying, assessing and certifying an individual’s knowledge, skills and competencies against prescribed standards, or learning outcomes regardless of when, where and how they were acquired.
Dr Alice Kande said the policy will be crucial in addressing forgery of academic papers which the Public Service Commission said have been used by more than 2,000 public servants to be appointed, promoted or re-designated.
“We strongly believe that we will not see more people using shortcuts to get certifications as the RPL policy provides for a clear mechanism on how to acquire a certificate, be it in informal or formal sector,” she said.
The director general was speaking on Thursday during a planning meeting for national launch of the policy in March this year.
On Tuesday last week, PSC said an authentication exercise conducted in October 2022 on the academic credentials of public officers across 331 institutions found that 2,067 of them secured jobs or promotions using forged documents.
Some 787 officers in Ministries, State Departments and Agencies, including universities and tertiary institutions, were found culpable.
The common types of forgeries included alteration of KCSE mean grades, forged KCSE certificates by those who did not sit the exam while others were found to have never registered for or sat exams for which they hold certification.
Others were found in possession of bachelor's degrees that were altered from second division (lower) to reflect second division (upper).
PSC chairperson Anthony Muchiri said majority of the individuals are employees at the Ministry of Interior, Kenyatta National Hospital, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and the Geothermal and Development Corporation.
"This number is not final as the authentication exercise is still ongoing and we expect to receive more cases of forgeries," he said.
Last month, the Cabinet approved the policy, paving way for recognition of skills, knowledge and competencies acquired through practical work but which are not supported by academic or institutional qualifications.
The approval process, which started in 2020, is a huge milestone as it now puts in place a functional and credible system for recognition of skills in the informal sector.
Kande said the policy will open up a bountiful frontier of new opportunities for millions of Kenyans by facilitating transition from informality to formality between the education system and the labour market.
"This will enable our skilled, but uncertified youths to be awarded certificates based on individual competencies expanding their opportunities in employment and advanced learning,’’ she said.
The Presidential Working Party on Education Reform which was formed by the President on September 30, 2022 recommended in its report the implementation of RPL policy and Credit Accumulation and Transfer Systems in Kenya.
Those present during the planning meeting included stakeholders from the Ministry of Education, International Labour Organization, National Industrial Training Institute and Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority, among others.