The Ministry of Education has directed universities and other regulatory bodies to speed up the registration of academic qualifications and graduate records on the national qualifications database.
The directive comes amid concerns over the slow progress in registering universities, qualifications and graduates under the Kenya National Qualifications Framework (KNQF).
Higher Education Principal Secretary Beatrice Inyangala said the government wants to strengthen the system used to record, verify and recognise academic and professional qualifications in the country.
She said having a strong and flexible qualifications framework would help bring together the different education and training pathways while ensuring that qualifications awarded by Kenyan institutions remain credible and widely recognised.
“We are emphasising the importance of having a robust, coherent and flexible qualifications framework that helps us put together and recognise our diverse pathways,” Inyangala said.
According to the PS, the framework is also important in ensuring that qualifications obtained at different levels of education and training meet the required standards and are recognised both in Kenya and internationally.
However, the registration process remains significantly incomplete.
Only 22 per cent of universities have so far been registered under the system, while just 12 per cent of qualifications have been captured in the national database.
Registration of graduate records currently stands at 34 per cent, meaning a large number of academic credentials are yet to be included in the national system.
The government’s push comes as Parliament considers the Kenya National Qualifications Framework (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
The proposed law seeks to establish a national qualifications database and require learning institutions to notify the Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA) of qualifications awarded within 90 days.
If implemented, the proposed changes would make registration and proper management of the database a key part of efforts to create a reliable record of academic and professional qualifications in Kenya.
At the same time, the government has increased scrutiny of higher education and training institutions operating without the required accreditation.
The Ministry of Education and the Commission for University Education (CUE) have also stepped up oversight of institutions as the government moves to strengthen standards and protect students from unrecognised qualifications.
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