Country
Kenya
Which bodies have a remit over qualifications and continuing professional development in Kenya, where that remit stops, and what happens to a qualification arriving from outside.
The system in short
Kenya has a single national qualifications framework of ten levels, coordinated by an authority set up for the purpose. Recognition of a qualification earned abroad does not go through that authority in the way most people expect: for an individual holding a foreign university award, the route runs through the university regulator instead. Continuing professional development is separate again, and sits with each profession’s own regulator.
Is CPD required
Every medical and dental practitioner must obtain at least 50 CPD points in each CPD calendar year, which runs from 1 January to 31 December, in order to be retained on the annual register. The Council states that this is mandatory under Cap 253 of the Laws of Kenya and the CPD Rules of 2019, and that the requirement must be satisfied before the annual licence is renewed or retention granted.
The qualifications framework
Kenya National Qualifications Framework (KNQF)
Ten levels, from Level 1 covering basic functional knowledge and skills through to Level 10 covering original research and the development of knowledge. It is administered by the Kenya National Qualifications Authority, which was established in 2015 to coordinate and harmonise education, training, assessment and quality assurance of all qualifications awarded in the country, and which operates under the KNQF Act No. 22 of 2014 and the KNQF Regulations 2018.
A qualification from outside the country
CUE recognition and equation
For a degree, postgraduate diploma or postgraduate certificate awarded by a foreign university, the route is recognition and equation by the Commission for University Education, which is mandated to do this under the Universities Act, Cap 210. The Commission examines the content of the programme and equates its content and achievement levels with those obtained within the Kenyan university system. The applicant must hold the award from an accredited and recognised institution and must have met the minimum entry requirements for an equivalent Kenyan programme. A first application by the holder of the award costs KES 6,000, and a subsequent application on the same award costs KES 3,600. This is a different service from the Kenya National Qualifications Authority’s Certificate of Qualifications Equivalence, which is aimed at institutions and awarding bodies placing a qualification on the framework rather than at an individual seeking recognition of their own certificate.
Bodies with a remit
Kenya National Qualifications Authority
Coordinates and harmonises education, training, assessment and quality assurance of qualifications awarded in Kenya, and maintains the ten-level national framework and the national qualifications database. It issues a Certificate of Qualifications Equivalence, and undertakes alignment and validation of qualifications awarded by foreign universities and awarding bodies under section 10(1) of the KNQF Regulations 2018.
Outside its remit: The Certificate of Qualifications Equivalence is for awarding institutions placing a qualification on the framework. An individual wanting their own foreign degree recognised is dealt with by the Commission for University Education, not here.
Commission for University Education
Recognises and equates degrees, postgraduate diplomas and postgraduate certificates conferred by foreign universities and institutions, under the Universities Act, Cap 210. This is the route for an individual holding a foreign university award.
Outside its remit: Awards below university level, and purely vocational qualifications, which this service does not cover.
Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council
Regulates medical and dental practitioners and runs the CPD requirement that annual retention on the register depends on: a minimum of 50 CPD points per calendar year, mandatory under Cap 253 and the CPD Rules 2019.
Outside its remit: Other health cadres, and every other regulated profession, which have their own boards and their own rules.
Where nothing covers you
Not yet checked
Only the medical and dental regulator has been read. Engineering, accountancy, teaching, law and the other regulated professions set their own CPD requirements in Kenya, and those have not been checked. The comparative table entry covers medical and dental practice only.
No check recorded