Kenya’s Academic Verification Process By: Dr. Steve T. waithaka Deputy director examinations Kenyatta university (DSVOL), Kenya

Universities and colleges 22 Public Universities 17 Chartered Private Universities 5 Private University Constituent Colleges 12 Private University Constituent Colleges 2 Registered Private Universities Total = 58 Universities Middle colleges = 184 Very competitive Need for lecturers and student

Reasons for academic verification High demand of lecturers and students that can compromise quality Placement of the right academic staff, support staff- technicians, teaching assistants etc Ensure admission of the right students at levels (post graduates are the highest culprits) Right placement and admission results to quality teaching and minimum exam irregularities –both teachers and students

Our experience Overwhelming number of certificates and testimonials from all over the globe Lecturers and support staff apply for employment with foreign certificates that are resource intensive to verify Students apply for admission with qualifications that need verification/ cumbersome to verify Local universities counterfeit certificates Balance: Demand of teaching staff and students and quality

Challenges on qualifications verification Verification is a lengthy, costly, and labor intensive process. Some organizations and institutions choose to respond to document verification request only if they have authorization from the certificate holder Institutions are asking for a verification fee payment often to be made to a financial institution outside Kenya in local currencies (i.e. Indian rupees, Chinese Yuan etc).This slow down the document verication process, resulting in unnecessary delays. The institution no longer exists!

Challenges on qualifications verification contd’… Transcripts, presumably received directly from the issuing institution, fail to meet all the criteria of an official document. Documents received provide information that is not consistent with other information already on record i.e disparities Verifications issued by embassies, consulates, or public notaries - should not be accepted. This is because the process of certification or notarization by such entities is cannot be academically authenticated

What works well for us When sending documents for verification, check the address to which you send your request against the address that appears in published sources and do not rely solely on the address that is provided on the document itself Letters asking for verification Verification requests should be addressed to the title of the officer who issued and signed the document and not to a particular individual e.g Deputy Director, Support and Enhancement and not Mr. Navin Vasudev, registrar, chancellor etc.

What works well for us contd’… To expedite the verification process, we send request by post then fax and email whenever possible. We only accept authorized officials within the issuing institutions only to verify documents from that same institution and not for others. We accept verification replies by fax and email provided that the name, email address, or fax number of the sender can be traced back to the institution’s website or published sources, such as the international Handbook of universities, the commonwealth universities Yearbook.

What works well for us contd’… We require individual applicants to make their own arrangements for document transmittal to reduce cost burdens in our instituion We establish the authenticity by asking ourselves the following questions; Was the document mailed directly from the appropriate office) in a sealed institutional envelope? Is the format of the document consistent with others received from the same institution? Is there an appropriate official signature and institutional seal? Was the document mailed using an institutional postage meter (as opposed to a postage stamp)? Is the document recently dated? Is the document consistent with other documents on file, with the applicant’s academic background? Are their inconsistencies?

Way forward Africa countries set up ministry-authorized offices that verify, ask and send academic documentation on behalf of academic institutions (as done in China, Pakistan, and Cuba ) for consistency, standardization, authenticity and to speed up the process. The institutions and organizations in Africa assessing international academic credentials be familiar with varied global practices and take these into consideration when developing and applying their own policies and practices for global standard and consistency

Way forward The seminar participants should take the forefront position in forming inter-institutions and inter-countries collaboration fror qualifications verification African saying A journey of thousand steps starts with one step. SAQA seminar participants collaboration is that first step. Let us all take the first step for the sake of a beloved continent Africa to ensure genuine qualifications in our institutions