Use of fake academic qualifications in Kenya is something that has been going on for decades now and getting worse by the years.
Fake degrees are an insult to our intelligence. Listening to one of the candidates in the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission interviews justify what are clearly fake qualifications, one is left wondering how those in the institutions in Kenya where these fake degrees are obtained are not behind bars.
How is it that the police have not been able to unearth the individuals behind such operations, assuming the fake degrees are dished out in the back streets.
It is tough enough to study for a master’s degree without other commitments, but to suggest that one can obtain a master’s degree overnight while employed full-time, and follow it up with a PhD six months later, is to suggest that all the honest and intelligent people who spent years studying and crafting their research are morons.
Mockery
Use of fake academic qualifications in Kenya is something that has been going on for decades now and getting worse by the years. It makes a mockery of those who appreciate knowledge and wish and indeed study to the highest level to achieve their qualifications.
It also frustrates the aspirations of the country in building a well-educated and skilled work force. Crucially, it negates the idea of having schools, colleges and universities. What is the point of having a Ministry of Education staffed to the hilt, pour a huge budget into it, only to allow those with fake degrees to take the lead in employment and politics?
Those with fake degrees may just survive our rotten politics and certain types of professions, but will not cut the mustard in areas such as healthcare where risk to life is high. Sadly, our health docket is not safe from individuals who work as nurses or indeed doctors with fake degrees. Kenyans are likely be locked out from work opportunities abroad due to the explosion of fake degrees in every facet of our lives.
The frustrating part is that it is politicians who have been at the forefront of using fake degrees. Lawmakers cannot be law-breakers, but sadly that is exactly what has been happening in our country. Parliament and county officers turning a blind eye to the use of fake degrees by politicians has only emboldened more and more crooked Kenyans to rely on fake papers. Why study for a degree if you can buy one?
I bet there are many ways to acquire skills and knowledge but, if one claims that their knowledge came from an institution, then they must back that claim with genuine hard work and hours put in to acquire the qualifications.
I have pondered as to why there is increase of fake degrees in Kenya now, when previously the country took pride in its brightest of leaders, who went to distinguished schools and colleges in the country and outside. Does the cost of studying for higher degrees in Kenya make it so prohibitive that people choose the cheaper option of buying them? It might be best to look at the root causes of the rise in the number of fake degrees in the country if we are to end the problem.
The Ministry of Education has not been spared the wrath of corruption. In addition, schools and colleges in Kenya are not well funded or even built to offer Kenyan children educational opportunities that should be accruing to them by virtue of the rights in our Bill of Rights.
Pocketed
Politicisation of bursaries and the Constituency Development Fund has had a negative impact on education. Many children still miss out on schooling due to their bursaries being pocketed by politicians who should, at the very least, have nothing to do with education funding bar for charitable purposes using their own funds. The Teachers Service Commission has also started singing political tunes to appease certain groups of politicians. I do not understand what a politician has got to do with posting of school teachers.
There are many contributory factors to the lowering of education standards in Kenya and the rise in use of fake degrees. It is incumbent on the government to take the issues that bedevil the Ministry of Education and address them as a matter of urgency. It is only fair for Kenyans who genuinely want to learn and use their skills positively to contribute to the development of the country.
The run-away use of fake degrees does not bode very well for the country and for the future of its children. Singapore as admired by Kenya invests well in education and is able to draw a high quality personnel from the pool it trains.
The penalty for those who rely on fake degrees to get ahead of those with genuine degrees must be stiffer.
Ms Guyo is a legal researcher, [email protected], @kdiguyo
