Education Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang'i is set to implement a new way of clamping down on fake certificates and diplomas.
The Ministry of Education launched the Kenya National Qualification Authority (KNQA), a body that will countercheck all qualifications, in a move that will end mediocrity in the education sector.
KNQA will have a digital database that will contain details of all institutions and students who successfully completed their courses.
It will also be tasked with harmonising the duration of programmes offered in institutions of higher learning as well as clearly define the units to be done in a particular programme.
Speaking during a function aimed at streamlining the education sector, KNQA chairman Prof. Bonaventure Kerre stated that the body would register all qualifications to ensure the credibility of courses and qualifications.
"We will establish a national database which is digital and we will register all qualifications so that when someone says they have a diploma or degree in a certain field it will be easier to go online to find out," he remarked.
His sentiments were echoed by Matiang'i who said that Kenya needed to produce credible graduands.
"This guy will be hired by someone in Botswana. They will perform very poorly.
"Next time that company will not hire anyone from Kenya even if they are qualified people," he stated.
The launch of the KNQA, which will start official operations in six months time, will be a major milestone as far as streamlining the education sector is concerned.
For a while now, some streets in downtown Nairobi have been famed for producing fake certificates at a small fee, leading to unqualified personnel handling top jobs.
