The government has asked higher education institutions across the country to register their qualifications with the Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA), warning that no institution will be authorized to confer certificates without prior registration.
TVET Principal Secretary (PS) Dr. Esther Muoria said the directive will be implemented through the Policy Framework for the Accreditation System on Qualifications, which will provide a framework on the registration.
“With the establishment of the Kenya National Learners Records Database (KNLRD), the accreditation system will govern the registration process for awarding institutions and their qualifications, and establish a comprehensive database of national qualifications to combat fraudulent certifications,” said Dr. Muoria.
The PS made the remarks during a workshop to develop standards and guidelines for the national policy framework for accreditation of qualifications held in Machakos county.
KNQA has so far registered more than 30 higher learning institutions including universities have on boarded their qualifications into the KNLRD.
Onboarding of the qualifications aims to ensure that the menace of fake and fraudulent qualifications are eliminated in the country as institutions can only onboard their qualifications into the system once they have been registered as Qualification Awarding Institutions (QAIs) by the Authority.
Dr. Muoria lauded the support of sub-sector regulators in the education sector, TVET Authority (TVETA) and Commission for University Education (CUE) for supporting the initiative.
“Accreditation and registration of qualifications are fundamental pillars in any education system that seeks to be robust, inclusive, and responsive to the demands of an ever-evolving world. This process ensures that qualifications are recognized, reliable, and consistent with national and international standards and this gives confidence to learners, employers, and institutions that skills and knowledge being developed are of the highest quality and relevance,” she added.
The PS appreciated the collaborative nature by critical players within the KNQF, right from basic to university education, noting that such collective responsibility and singularity of purpose will help the country achieve the much-envisaged harmonized education and training and most importantly, lead to credible, visible and globally competitive qualifications.
“I would like to reiterate that you have my full support and the contribution of this initiative towards enhancing thequality of education in this country would not have come at a better time, when we are embracing ‘The Whole of Government Approach ‘ in development and implementation of key national policy documents. Let us leverage our strengths and uniqueness,” she said.
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KNQA Director General Dr. Alice Kande revealed that the Authority is working with all stakeholders to ensure that they have the right qualifications and have required skills in the labour market.
“We want to train Kenyans based on the labour market. We have seen a lot of responses from various stakeholders and hope more will onboard the system. Universities have shown great interest to register their qualifications in the portal as QAIs,” said Dr. Kande.
The Authority, she added, has also stepped up awareness creation initiatives on the importance of registering qualifications in the system.
“There is need to appreciate the role of KNQA in terms of registering qualifications. I want to assure Kenyans that the data that being populated is in line with the data protection Act,” said Dr. Kande.
KNQA is implementing the National Qualifications Information Management System (NAQIMS) to manage an accurate, reliable and robust database of all qualifications in the country that will allow for comparability and information sharing in the education sector globally.
By Our Reporter
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