Commission for University Education Warns Unaccredited Institutions Against Issuance of Degrees

The Commission for University Education (CUE) has cautioned unaccredited institutions against issuing academic certificates as it violates the law.

The commission, in a press statement, on Tuesday, December 24, clarified that the Universities Act prohibited the provision of university education without government accreditation.

CUE warned that it would take legal action against individuals or organisations found culpable of operating higher learning institutions without requisite accreditation.

While making the announcement, the commission advised Kenyans to visit https://cue.or.ke/index.php/status-of-universities to access the list of accredited Universities in Kenya and the programmes offered by the institutions.

“Kenyans are hereby informed that awarding of academic qualifications by unaccredited institutions is a direct violation of the Universities Act, which prohibits the provision of university education without accreditation,” CUE stated.

The commission further revealed that it had launched investigations into the circumstances surrounding the purported award of degrees by Northwestern Christian University.

According to CUE, once the investigations are completed, it would then proceed to take legal action against the university for allegedly contravening the law.

The commission disclosed that the revocation of the university’s operating licence was announced in 2023 through a notice published in the local dailies, however, despite the notice, the institution went against the law and continued with its operations.

“It was made explicitly clear that the institution was not accredited to offer any university education in Kenya and that any purported credentials issued would not be recognized in Kenya,” the commission revealed.

The latest announcement comes hours after the Engineering Board of Kenya (EBK) ordered Northwestern Christian University-Kenya to immediately withdraw Kapseret Member of Parliament Oscar Sudi’s Honourary Doctorate Degree.

The institution issued the honorary degree certificate with the ‘Engineer’ title on Saturday, December 21, during the university’s 17th graduation ceremony.

EBK disclosed that it issued the orders after it received numerous complaints from concerned members of the public regarding the misuse of the professional title “Engineer” in the honorary doctorate certificate.