Kisumu: The Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA) has flagged over 10,000 fake certificates from various Government Departments and agencies as part of an ongoing qualifications authentication exercise. The revelations come after the state agency received 47,000 files from approximately 400 government institutions following a 2022 circular mandating the verification of employee credentials.
According to Kenya News Agency, KNQA Chairman Stanley Kiptis confirmed that the 10,000 flagged files have been forwarded back to the respective institutions for further action. Kiptis expressed concerns over the slow pace of the verification exercise, urging institutions that have not yet submitted their files to expedite the process. He emphasized the importance of the exercise, saying it targets to eliminate unqualified individuals from public office, ensuring integrity in the public service sector.
'We are urging all government institutions to comply with the circular and submit their employees' files for verification. If you are funded by the taxpayer and have employees under you, kindly abide by the directive and send their documents for authentication,' he said. The preliminary report, he said, was a pointer to the situation in public service, adding that KNQA expects to have a clearer picture of the extent of fake certifications in the public sector by the end of the year, when the exercise is projected to reach 80% completion.
To tame the vice, KNQA, he said, was working closely with the Ministry of Education and other stakeholders to develop a national database of all issued certificates. He stated that all issuing institutions have been directed to establish their own databases, which will be integrated into the KNQA system for seamless verification and retrieval.
The KNQA Chairman made these remarks in Kisumu during a public participation forum on the proposed KNQA General Regulations 2025. He explained that the authority was engaging the public and institutions to refine the regulations in line with current developments in the education sector at the national, continental, and global levels. KNQA, he added, will continue to work with relevant agencies to streamline the authentication of academic qualifications across the country.