The Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA) has registered more than one million university qualifications in its database, a milestone in the government's push to stamp out the use of forged academic certificates.
The government is moving to tighten the verification of academic credentials and the oversight of institutions that award qualifications, amid concern over fraudulent papers being used to secure jobs. The database is expected to let employers and agencies confirm academic records without lengthy checks with individual universities and other institutions.
It is part of a wider plan for a centralised National Qualifications Database that would bring together records from recognised institutions to improve transparency and protect the credibility of Kenya's education system.
The government aims to connect all universities to the database by the end of 2026, though integrating records from institutions across the country remains a challenge.(Education News Kenya — https://educationnews.co.ke/news/knqa-database-passes-one-million-records-in-push-to-curb-fake-certificates)
In September, Higher Education Principal Secretary Beatrice Inyangala said technology would be used to improve information sharing between institutions and speed up verification. The system is meant to help authorised users trace a person's academic progression from basic education through university and technical and vocational education and training (TVET), making it easier to tell whether a job seeker's qualifications are genuine.
A Public Service Commission report for the 2023/2024 financial year identified 1,019 civil servants with forged academic papers, of whom 744 faced disciplinary action.
KNQA Director General Alice Kande has previously said the current process is cumbersome because employers often have to contact several institutions to confirm records. The authority is also working with other agencies to strengthen the regulation and recognition of qualifications awarded in Kenya and abroad.
The Commission for University Education (CUE) regulates universities and accredits their programmes, while KNQA handles the registration, alignment and recognition of qualifications within the national framework.
The two agencies are expected to work together to ensure that qualifications come from recognised institutions and meet the required standards.
The Kenya National Qualifications Framework gives a common structure for classifying qualifications from different education and training pathways, and is also meant to improve the recognition and comparison of Kenyan qualifications.
Reader Discussion (0)
Sign in to comment