The problem of fake certificates is a global challenge. The National Student Clearinghouse, a US organization that offers a certificate verification service, reports that the prevalence of falsified academic credentials is a serious, prevalent, and growing problem. In 2015 the New York Times reported on a billion-dollar industry consisting of 3,300 “diploma mills”. These were fake universities and colleges that sold certificates for all levels of certification, worldwide. We also have in the world many universities and colleges awarding certificates that they have no accreditation or mandate to do so.
The problem of buying
totally fake academic certificates is only a small part of the problem. Some
people who have genuine certificates, falsify their academic transcripts or
even the final grade or classification of the qualification. In the recent
past, counterfeiting of qualifications has been made easier through the use of ICT
and related technologies. In Africa, like elsewhere, higher education is highly
sought-after and provides a measure of status and improved job prospects,
which has made it more difficult for people to resist the temptation of adding
or altering the qualifications that they have. The challenge in many
countries, especially in Africa remains rampant, as employers or Governments
have not put in place any mechanisms to counter it. For example, it is
generally thought that 30 to 40% of all qualifications in Africa are falsified
and/or fake. But apart from South Africa, many countries in Africa have not put
in place systems to detect and deter the use of fake and falsified documents.
In spite of this, In 2018, South Africa saw a sharp increase in the number of fraudulent qualifications reported to
regulatory bodies such as the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA).
It is generally
thought that fake credentials are becoming more common in Kenya. And here, they
take the form of buying totally fake academic certificates, falsified
documents, using documents that belong to other people, and certificates issued
by colleges and universities that do not have manage to do so. Before
enactment of the KNQF act of 2014, there was no centralized place for reporting
of fake certificates in the country. This posed a serious problem for
colleges, universities and employers. It undermined their legitimacy and
reputation and robed honest candidates of opportunities for further education
and/or employment.
For colleges and
universities, fake qualifications pose a reputational risk – as other colleges, countries and employers do not
trust their qualifications. If students with fake certificates from a specific
college manage to gain entry on a falsified transcript, their performance will
be below standard. Future applicants from that college or university may be
disadvantaged by association. This also poses a risk to university selection
criteria data and policy, as it damages the validity of using prior academic
records from universities and colleges across the country as a predictor of
success.
Another consequence is
that a high prevalence of fraudulent qualifications has increased the tendency
for universities to hire their own students mostly–for further study, or even
employment, rather than recruiting from further afield. That’s because students
who’ve already been trained by the institution are more easily verified and
represent a known entity.
It is because of this
observation that the KNQA is now putting in place a mechanism to verify and
weed out fake certificates in the country. These include the use of a robust
verification system, reference checking, and competency-based interviews
(policies, standards, and guidelines still under development). For us to
do this effectively, we are developing a system that links higher education
institutions to a centralized database where third-party queries may be done.
The service will verify KCSE, KASNEB, TVET level, and University level certificates
and qualifications. The system also checks whether an academic institution is
accredited by the relevant government body. To do this the system is currently
recruiting all institutions that award qualifications in the country to
register and to commit to submitting data on their graduates in a timely manner.
While this is ongoing
the Authority through its VeriCert program has started on a
pilot basis to verify certificates using a manual system that involves the use
of forensic experts for corporate organizations only. It is hoped that lessons
learned from this process will assist in the development of a robust online
qualifications verification system for Kenya. The service costs Ksh.1000 for
each certificate verified and is available to corporate clients only. To use
the service, send us a copy of the certificate and transcripts for the
qualification that you intend to verify.
To apply for
verification of your certificates click on the link below: