The Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) has launched a digital platform that verifies the authenticity of academic certificates.
During the launch on Friday, July 4, Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok affirmed the necessity of the platform to enable the government weed out proliferation of fake academic credentials used in securing public service employment.
Bitok said that the platform had already been embraced by the Public Service Commission (PSC).
“The platform, which is currently being piloted in collaboration with the Public Service Commission, marks a major step forward in the fight against fake academic papers. It provides a fast, secure, and reliable way to authenticate certificates issued by KNEC,” said Bitok.
“This innovation will enhance transparency and credibility in recruitment processes, especially within the public service, and ensure that only genuine qualifications are recognized.”
The use of fake academic credentials to secure employment in the public service has reached proportions of great concern with many Kenyans in notable career positions ending up in court.
In its annual report covering the 2023/2024 financial year, PSC revealed that 449 government employees were sacked when it was established they were employed on the strength of forged academic credentials.
Another 181 employees opted for resignation when they could not verify the veracity and credibility of their academic qualifications.
The report released in January pointed out at a laxity in the system to verify forged credentials that the digital verification will now address.
“Out of 150 institutions that did not authenticate their certificates, 100 (67%) committed to authenticating by 30th June 2025, 32 (21%) said they would authenticate by 31st March 2025 while 18 (12%) did not provide a timeline,” stated the report.
“Out of 1,019 officers found with fake certificates, action was taken on 744 (73%) officers. 79 (7.8%) officers were still undergoing investigation, and no action was taken on 15 (1.5%). The status of action taken on 181 (17.8%) officers was not indicated.”
The digital certificate verification will hopefully weed out this ambiguity.
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