In the media

A recent verification exercise has revealed that the government of Kenya has been disbursing Ksh.1.1 billion to ghost students in public schools over the years. The number could even be higher, considering that the verification process is not complete, with 934 schools yet to present their data to the ministry. The verification process has already led to the closure of 10 secondary schools that the Ministry of Education says had no students.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) of Kenya has arrested five individuals from key public institutions for fraudulently securing public sector jobs or benefits using forged academic documents. The Commission will pursue criminal charges and civil recovery of illegally earned salaries. They also urged public institutions to strengthen credential verification to prevent fake qualifications.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EEAC) has uncovered bribery, corruption, procurement irregularities, and fraudulent acquisition of public property in five public universities in Kenya. These malpractices have resulted in the loss of 6.4 billion shillings in public funds. The universities are now under investigation for criminal offenses.

The Cabinet Secretary for Education has called for quicker prosecution of all persons involved in exam fraud, warning that delays could encourage repeat offenses. He recommends measures like individualized penalties and placing candidates' names on exam papers to improve accountability. These steps aim to prevent issues such as unregistered candidates, unauthorized possession of materials, and altering results.

Kenya's public sector is facing a crisis as an audit by the Public Service Commission revealed more than 2,000 cases of fake academic and professional certificates among government employees. It was found that 787 civil servants had used false credentials, ranging from fake secondary and tertiary education certificates to altered grades. This widespread fraud, which affects several government institutions, undermines public confidence. The proposed legislation aims to tackle the problem, but urgent reforms are needed to restore integrity and accountability.

Education Cabinet Secretary raised concerns about school heads potentially inflating candidate numbers for national examinations in Kenya. Similar concerns were raised during the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam, where 9,354 students registered but did not sit the exam. To curb "ghost candidates, this year KCSE registration will be done based on the data in the National Education Management Information System.

In the book "Corruption in Higher Education: Global Challenges and Responses," 34 experts shed light on various corruption issues in higher education: contract cheating and outsourcing assignments; ambivalent hiring processes; fake universities that take various forms, from profit-driven schemes to students buying degrees without fulfilling obligations; corruption research involves scholars, administrators, and agencies, united against academic corruption. Future steps include integrity theory development, examining secondary education's impact, leveraging technology, avoiding social group stigmatization, and fostering global cooperation.

At a webinar organized by the University of Nairobi, a professor of curriculum and instruction at Texas Tech University challenged university faculty members to adopt innovative online assessment techniques that limit student cheating and implement academic integrity policies. Cheating can be limited by disabling certain functions, such as copy and paste, and by using software to prohibit access to certain applications, such as email, or to disable screen sharing. Systems whereby teachers are alerted when students attempt to cheat, and authentication can also help curb risks.

According to a survey conducted by Education Sub-Saharan Africa (ESSA), most universities in East Africa struggled to uphold the integrity of examinations that were administered online during the COVID-19 pandemic. The lead investigator at ESSA reports that students used materials prohibited during the examinations or breached university examination policies. Uganda and Kenya had the highest number of universities that struggled, at 31% and 27%, respectively.

According to the Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA), at least one out of every three people employed in Kenya has a fake academic certificate, i.e. About 30 per cent (at least 250,000) of the civil service workforce. In March 2023, the Kenya Medical Training College revoked the admission of 53 medical trainees after it was discovered that they had joined the institution using fake secondary school certificates. The Public Service Commission and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission then ordered all public and private employers to conduct audits of employees' academic qualifications over the past ten years to ensure their accountability.