NAIROBI, KENYA: Academic credential fraud has affected the delivery of government services and denied millions of Kenyans an opportunity to benefit from government services, the Commission of University Education (CUE) has revealed.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of 2nd Education Innovation for Africa, CUE Chief Executive Officer, Prof David Some, said that credential fraud has become a real threat to African Universities and national governments and if not contained it will continue to affect reputation of credible institutions.
“Illegitimate degrees have become a tool of choice for employees seeking a short cut to a promotion or pay raise, and an increasingly competitive global job market, are intensifying the pressure,” Prof. Some revealed.
He added that “fraudulent credential is a criminal offence, but the challenge we face is that we don’t have a law that addresses this concern. I am still looking for countries to that criminalize this act. Therefore, I am urging all employers to scrutinize academic papers submitted by job applicants in order to end this vice,” said Prof. Some.
Prof. Some, urged the delegate to emulate CUE by shaming these institutions, in order to help the education sector so as to take full advantage of technology.
The two days conference themed Education innovation for Africa was attended by Education Ministers and education policy makers. “The conference is deliberating upon new practices in the education business that would fast track efficacy in service delivery and build stronger collaboration in the education and training sectors,” said Alim Ladha,CEO of Instil Education based in South Africa.
Prof. Some reminded the delegates that providing universal primary education for children is part of the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals #4, which objective is to promote inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all.
Education Innovation Africa is a forum focused on developing innovative partnership models to improve education delivery in Sub-Saharan Africa, with particular focus on East Africa. Bringing together Ministries, investors, innovators, educators and solution providers, the event promotes and facilitates private sector engagement in improving education outcomes in early years, K-12, higher and further education.
