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Politicians with questionable academic papers can now heave a sigh of relief after the government stopped the Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA) from verifying certification of local and foreign academic credentials.

The move follows the court cases that have rocked the authority on whether the mandate rests on them. 

KNQA Director-General, Dr. Juma Mukhwana also said they will not undertake any vetting of academic certificates for political aspirants for the upcoming General Election.

KNQA together with Commission for University Education (CUE) had began the verification exercise ahead of the nominations for political parties.

The two were scheduled to submit their report to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) which then would bar aspirants found with fake papers.

Now with KNQA out of the way, it leaves the exercise in the hands of CUE, which experts say does not have the resources, personnel and expertise to undertake such a huge workout within a short timeframe.

In a statement yesterday, Dr Mukhwana said that the authority will only work to align and validate national and foreign qualifications into the Kenya National Qualification Framework (KNQF).

According to Mukhwana, this will be done for purposes of establishing a credible database of genuine and authentic qualifications as provided by the law.

Credible database

“This is to bring to the attention of the general public there has been ongoing court cases regarding recognition and verification of qualifications, obtained in Kenya and those brought into the country,” said Mukhwana in a statement.

He however said a meeting convened by Solicitor General last week resolved that KNQA regulations guiding the same be suspended, so that they can be aligned to the KNQF Act.

“Students, colleges and universities seeking recognition, equation and verification of qualifications are directed to seek such entities as Commission for University Education (CUE), TVET Authority (TVETA) and Kenya National Examination Council, (KNEC),” he advised.

There has been an ongoing fight between the government agencies over which of them is authorised to recognize academic papers obtained locally or from foreign institutions.

In the court case, the petitioner-George Bala, claimed that such powers are only vested with the CUE and TVETA.