The government has ordered a fresh verification of educational certificates for Kenyans in both the public and private sectors.
The exercise is set to be conducted in partnership with the Ethics and Anti-Graft Commission (EACC) and will be undertaken through a nationwide crackdown on certificates as it seeks to recover over Ksh460 million acquired by employees who used fake certificates.
According to EACC, public sector offices are leading in employees with fake certificates, and the crackdown will not spare them.
EACC raised an alarm that the rate of employees being employed with fake certificates has increased to an alarming rate, necessitating the crackdown.
Owing to the increased numbers, the commission is seeking the government's help to ensure integrity in the employment sector.
''The commission received and has taken up for investigation a total of 549 reports of forgery of academic and professional certificates. The amount of money we are looking to recover in this exercise is in the region of Ksh460 million," EACC CEO Abdi Ahmed revealed.
EACC expressed shock over the large number of individuals holding positions in government offices and private organisations using fake academic credentials.
EACC Chairperson Dr David Oginde warned that the issue might not be limited to government institutions alone.
"If anything we are seeing in the public service is anything to go by, it means that possibly a similar problem is also in the private sector," Oginde stated.
The Judiciary was also criticised for its lack of firm action against fake certificates, with concerns that leniency in prosecution has allowed fraudsters to retain positions of power.
"Let us not tolerate men and women who have given themselves to shortcuts in whatever field. Let us be ruthless to them," Oginde continued.
Head of Public Service Felix Koskei confirmed that an assessment conducted by the government found public offices leading in fake certificates at 70 per cent, followed by university lecturers.
Koskei further emphasised that employers should take responsibility for verifying employees' credentials before recruitment.
"EACC and the Public Service Commission need to push these responsibilities to the employers themselves. They have to authenticate the papers before they onboard anybody so that we don't waste a lot of government funds chasing these people," Koskei said.
The crackdown on fraudulent academic credentials continues to gain momentum as the government vows to restore integrity within its institutions
