Search Page

Universities involved in corruption will be stripped of their charters, the Education Cabinet Secretary has said. The minister warned that universities that admit and allow unqualified students to graduate will also lose their charters. He also said universities that grant politicians certificates that they are not qualified for ahead of next year’s elections will be not be spared. He spoke during the first graduation of the Cooperative University of Kenya on Friday.

The Public Service Recruitment Secretariat has collected a total of 1,008 fake academic certificates from public service job seekers. The Deputy Secretary of the Quality and Control Department said the use of forged certificates is a national crisis since the majority of job seekers use them. "The certificates (1,008 fake academic certificates) were collected within the six years of the Secretariat," he said and commended the government's move to crack down on the rampant use of fake certificates in public service. The people behind the fake certificates were taken on hold and their certificates blacklisted in the public service.

The higher education and research minister has warned new students to make sure they enrol in higher education institutions that are authorised and accredited by the state. During the past few years many new private institutions had opened as the numbers of young people qualified to enter higher education increased but places in public universities remained low. She stressed that “the ministry refuses to ratify or recognise the diplomas of institutions without authorisation.”

A top Nigerian academic has generated heated debate after publicly criticising the country’s university accreditation agency for lack of autonomy, negligence and double standards in its annual accreditation of courses. All accusations have been denied by the agency. The Professor accused the National Universities Commission, or NUC, of becoming a mouthpiece for government and failing to perform its duties as a regulatory agency created to ensure quality in universities. He accused the NUC of aiding and abetting corruption in its accreditation exercise, and said there were allegations that some people conducting accreditation “receive brown envelopes” – a euphemism for bribes – which also undermined the credibility of NUC accreditation.

Independent Schools Association of Malawi (Isama) officials have bemoaned high levels of corruption in the ministry of Education inspection department. The President of Isama said during the launch of a quiz competition organised by the association that Education ministry officials were demanding money from private school owners who did not have licence to operate their institutions in the country.

The National Commission on Higher Education says students seeking enrollment in universities in the country should inquire whether such institutions are registered with the Ministry of Education. The commission’s Director General said these fake or substandard universities offer degrees in various professions at poor quality to students.

Foreign tertiary institutions in Ghana have been directed by the National Accreditation Board to ensure that only students with certificates awarded by institutions accredited by the board be admitted to PhD courses. It is also concerned about a spate of honorary degrees awarded to personalities by some unaccredited or unqualified institutions.

Foreign universities offering degrees in Kenya without accreditation will be fined at least Sh10 million and their promoters sent to jail for three years under a new law meant to safeguard education standards. The Commission on University Education (CUE) will replace the Commission of Higher Education in overseeing university standards.

The Department of Higher Education has warned students to be wary of "registered" private colleges which offer certificates, diplomas and degrees but do not have its stamp of approval. A department spokesman expressed concern about the current trend whereby institutions secured registration for one or two programmes, and then used this status as a cover to offer other unregistered courses.