Bill proposes online database for academic papers to tame cheating
By Rawlings, August 21, 2023
Forging academic certificates will soon be a difficult task if a new bill is passed in Parliament.
The Universities (Amendment No.2) Bill, 2023 sponsored by Mandera South MP Abdul Haro seeks to compel universities and colleges to establish an online database for verification of the certificates.
The Bill seeks to amend section 20 of the Universities Act to provide for a digital database that allows a person to access and ascertain the authenticity of the papers.
He said the amendment will save Kenyans the inconvenience of physically walking to the universities to have their certificates verified.
The proposed change of law also provides that online digital certificates will come in handy during frequent university strikes, elections and epidemics.
“The principal object of the bill is to amend the Universities Act to provide a database in every college or university that will allow members of the general public to digitally ascertain the authenticity of papers acquired from the institutions,” the Bill reads in part.
Fake certificates
The proposed law now has been published pending introduction on the floor of the National Assembly for first reading.Fake certificates
The Bill comes at a time the country has been hit by claims of fake academic certificates in the public service.
Already, the Kenya National Qualification Authority, the state agency involved in vetting academic certificates, has announced that nearly 250,000 civil servants possess fake certificates.
The authority’s bid to launch a crackdown on culprits floundered after the exercise was stopped by a
Public Service Commission (PSC) has admitted the existence of forged academic and professional papers.