Government form team to nab academic frauds
The government has formed an inter-agency team to handle academic fraud in the country.
The task will be handled by both the Kenya National Qualifications of Authority (KNQA) and Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI)
This was agreed on during a meeting attended by the KNQA chairman Kilemi Mwiria, KNQA Director-General Juma Mukhwana and DCI Director George Kinoti in Nairobi on Tuesday.
The team is expected to expedite its work and net the suspects whom Mwiria said are mostly using the fake documents for employment.
“We are working with all stakeholders to eradicate this practice that is denying Kenyans with genuine academic documents, an opportunity to benefit from their hard work in school,”Mwiria said.
According to the DCI boss, the special team that will work with KNQA is experienced and has been handling cases of academic fraud.
On the other hand, the KNQA director said the partnership will help them take legal action against Kenyans who present fake academic documents during recognition and verification.
“We used to turn away people with fake academic qualifications and now with the partnership, the authority will hand them over to DCI,” said Dr Mukhwana.
Dr Mukhwana added that it will also be important to work with county governments and other state agencies in order to vet the academic certificates of their workers.
According to Dr Mukhwana one out of three (1/3) Kenyans have fake academic documents and therefore the need to take action against such individuals.
He further added that the authority is working together with learning institutions to ensure that learners are admitted in programs that they qualify to study.
“We are working together with universities, TVET and foreign institutions to ensure that the country has genuine and quality qualifications,” said Dr Mukhwana.
In the effort to stamp out the fake certificates, the authority’s leadership has also met with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and the Immigration Services Department for partnership.
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