The revelation that about 30% of Kenyans applying for jobs hold fake academic papers has sent shock waves amongst employers.
This happened when the country’s largest employer, the Public Service Commission (PSC), realised that many Kenyans hold falsified qualifications, something that put lives of Kenyans, and any other entity that is recieving services from such person, at a very high risk.
The Commission’s chairman Amb. Antony Muchiri, on February 13th, noted that many people had applied for various jobs with fake academic papers.
Speaking on the revelation, acting Director General of Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA) Dr Alice Kande, regretted the situation, terming it very unfortunate and unbecoming.
In a statement on Thursday, Dr Alice Kande said there has been a noticeable rise in the prevalence of counterfeit academic and professional certificates in the country.
“The escalating numbers of graduates holding credentials yet facing unemployment have contributed to the proliferation of fraudulent activities in this regard.
“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, falsified or interfered with,”
A fraudulent or falsified certificate is a credential obtained from an institution 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.
Dr Kande attributed the rise of the cheating on the failure of the government to have central national database where all information pertaining to every academic institution is documented and stored.
“With the database in place, fraudulent and falsified qualifications would 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.
