Integrity Centre: EACC has raised the red flag against forged academic certificates. [David Gichuru, Standard]
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has raised concern over the increased number of alleged falsification and forgery of academic certificates in the country.
The commission has written a circular which is addressed to all University Vice Chancellors, Chairpersons of University Councils, Commission for University Education and the Kenya National Examinations Council.
"The most prevalent and rampant irregularities that have been noted include, alteration of the grades in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education so as to gain admission into graduate and postgraduate programmes in universities and alteration of names on genuine certificates to enable the person altering to impersonate the ones named therein so as to either apply for admission to learning institutions or seek employment," the statement read.
The anti-graft body also listed "Cases of missing admission records or documents and other relevant information from a student's file or profile thereby making it difficult or impossible for law enforcement agencies to verify the bona fides of a person when investigating the foregoing allegations," as part of the irregularities.
EACC has said that the increased cases are a threat to Kenya's education system and if they remain unchecked it will compromise the value of the public service.
"It is therefore important that concerted efforts that bring on board all concerned stakeholders be embarked upon, to seek a lasting solution on how these vices can be curbed," the commission said.
EACC has urged major education stakeholders to establish and operationalize mechanisms to ensure the authenticity of academic records that are issued to graduates and post-graduates.
"There is need to interlink the systems of archiving academic records to make them more easily accessible for verification by other stakeholders including fellow academic institutions, government agencies and law enforcement bodies, in a manner that will deter cases of forgery and falsification," the commission said.
