- KNQA acting director general Dr Alice Kande said there has been a noticeable rise in the prevalence of counterfeit academic and professional certificates.
- She attributed the emergence of fake academic papers in the country to a lack of a central national database of qualifications.
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About 30 per cent of academic certificates held by Kenyans are found to have been falsified after a validation process by the Kenya National Qualifications Authority.
In a statement on Thursday, KNQA acting director general Dr Alice Kande said there has been a noticeable rise in the prevalence of counterfeit academic and professional certificates.
“The escalating numbers of graduates holding credentials yet facing unemployment have contributed to the proliferation of fraudulent activities in this regard,” Dr Kande said.
“In conducting validation and alignment of qualifications to the Kenya National Qualifications Framework (KNQF), the Authority has confirmed (and) documented that about 30 per cent of academic papers are fraudulent or falsified or interfered with.”
A fraudulent or falsified certificate is a credential obtained from an entity not formally recognised as a Qualifications Awarding Institution.
Such certificates, Dr Kande said, fail to meet the standards established by the KNQF, including minimum entry requirements, progression pathways, duration of study, credits, and KNQF level descriptors.
The revelation comes just 10 days after the Public Service Commission invited the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Authority and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to launch investigations after an audit found that over 2,000 staffers in the public service have forged papers.
PSC chairperson Amb Anthony Muchiri has on February 13 that the individuals used the fake academic papers to secure jobs, promotions and re-designations.
Dr Kande noted that the proliferation of academic qualifications is injurious to the country because besides undermining the credibility and integrity of the higher education system, it puts the lives of Kenyans and citizens of other jurisdictions at high risk.
“Addressing this issue necessitates concerted efforts at both institutional and national levels. KNQA therefore wishes to encourage all employers to engage the Authority in determining the authenticity of qualifications held by both current and prospective employees to ensure that only qualified persons are in correct positions,” she said.
Dr Kande attributed the emergence of fake academic papers in the country to a lack of a central national database of qualifications which has resulted in a fragmented qualifications sector.
She, however, exuded confidence that KNQA is making strides towards the permanent elimination of the vice by actively striving to establish and maintain a national database of national qualifications.
This, she said, is in line with international commitments to develop an accurate, reliable and robust database of all qualifications in the country that will allow for comparability and information sharing in the education sector.
“With the database in place, fraudulent and falsified qualifications will become a thing of the past since it will be a central repository of all our qualifications where one can check and query easily,” Dr Kande affirmed.
KNQA is currently implementing the Kenya National Qualifications Framework (KNQF) which involves verifying certificates of individuals aspiring to pursue higher education or seek employment in Kenya to ensure they meet the necessary standards and certifications.
The Authority is also accrediting examining and certifying education institutions as Qualifications Awarding Institutions (QAIs) for both local and international recognition and registering the qualifications they award.
“The consequential outcome of this endeavour is the promotion and building of confidence in our education and training system, both within the local context and on a broader scale within the regional and global qualifications landscape,” Dr Kande said.