The Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA) is looking to implement the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in a bid to absorb Kenyans with various competencies but lacking academic certificates.
Speaking while appearing before the parliamentary Committee on Education, Alice Kande, the Acting Director-General of KNQA, assured MPs that plans were in place to ensure recognition of such persons across different fields.
She noted that the RPL was already in use in select institutions and that the Ministry of Education was looking to expand its scope.
According to her, the validation of the revised draft policy reflects the government’s commitment to excellence and societal improvement.
She went on to explain that the policy would help to include skills and competencies that were yet to be assessed or acknowledged in the national qualifications database.
However, such people would have to go through short courses to secure certificates.
“We have thousands of skilled workers who do not have certified certificates, but under the new policy, their skills will be recognized and issued with certificates after a short training,” she told the committee.
According to the Qualifications Authority, 92 per cent of youth in the country have unrecognized competencies acquired through formal and informal means.
Kande was responding to questions from the Education Committee’s Chairperson Julius Melly who sought an explanation on the progress made in implementing the RPL policy.
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KNQA on Kenyans with skills
Melly had complained that the state had lagged in implementing the policy, leaving Kenyans with skills in various fields unable to showcase their skills.
“These people need to be recognized and certified to practice as per the RPL policy guidelines. What is taking so long?” posed Melly.
Also present in the session was Dr. Esther Muoria, the Principal Secretary for the State Department for Technical, Vocational Education, and Training.
In her submissions, the PS emphasized that language scores or academic certificates should not be barriers to recognizing skilled individuals in the Jua Kali sector.
Additionally, the PS assured that the Department had made recommendations to the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms on the need to recognize and certify all skills.
Brian Mwenda exposes gap
The session came on the back of a nationwide conversation on Brian Mwenda, an alleged quack lawyer who reportedly managed to practice law and represent clients unnoticed.
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Whilst members of the legal profession maintained that Mwenda’s alleged impersonation was a crime, a section of Kenyans jumped to his defense.
In particular, Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli called for the implementation of the RPL to accord Kenyans with skills like Mwenda a chance to practice.
Meanwhile, the suspected quack lawyer pleaded not guilty to the charges leveled against him at the Milimani Law Courts.
