The Kenya National Qualification Authority (KNQA) is in the process of establishing and maintaining a country’s database of national qualifications in a bid to help fight the fake certificates scam.
The authority’s acting Director General Dr Alice Kande has confirmed that currently there is a central national qualifications database, resulting in fragmented qualifications.
She said the database they are creating will be in line with international commitments to develop an accurate, reliable and robust system for all qualifications in the country that will allow for comparability and information sharing in the education sector.
“There has been a noticeable rise in the prevalence of counterfeit qualifications, encompassing both 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,” said Dr Kande.
The authority said it has confirmed and documented about 30 per cent of academic papers as fraudulent, falsified or interfered with in their recent exercise of conducting validation and alignment of qualifications to the Kenya National Qualifications Framework (KNQF).
According to KNQA, a fraudulent or falsified certificate is a credential obtained from an entity not formally recognized as a Qualifications Awarding Institution (QAI), and such certificates typically fail to meet the standards established by the KNQF, including minimum entry requirements, progression pathways, duration of study, credits, and KNQF level descriptors.
“The proliferation of fraudulent credentials poses a significant threat to the integrity of our higher education system, undermining its credibility. Addressing this issue necessitates concerted efforts at both institutional and national levels,” said Dr Kande.
“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. 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 added.
By our reporter
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