The Ministry of Health has expelled scores of Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) students from different campuses across the country after unearthing a major scandal involving fake academic papers.
The students were admitted to the colleges last September using fake Kenya Certificate Secondary Education (KCSE) certificates, Nation has learnt, seven months later after almost completing their first term in college.
“This is a national scandal. In Garissa, 15 out of 50 students who joined the September class of first years were found with fake papers alongside five others from the Port Reitz campus in Mombasa,” a KMTC source told Nation.
This prompted the Health ministry in conjunction with the Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) to investigate. KMTC was able to unearth the scam following the dismal performance of the students in their tests.
Admissions scandal
“We wondered how they managed to get admitted. These are students who might have never stepped in Form Four,” said another source. The majority of the affected students are from North Eastern region.
KMTC chief executive officer Kelly Oluoch, who for the better part of yesterday was holed up in a board meeting over the matter, told Nation in a text he would comment on the issue “later”. His Knec counterpart, Dr David Njeng’ere, neither confirmed nor denied the admissions scandal but referred Nation back to KMTC.
KMTC has 74 campuses in Bomet, Bondo, Bungoma, Busia, Chuka, Gatundu, Homabay, Imenti, Isiolo, Iten, Kabarnet, Kakamega, Kangundo, Kapenguria, Kapkatet, Kaptumo, Karen, Karuri, Kilifi, Kisii, Kisumu, Murang’a, Mwingi, Nairobi, Nakuru, Nyamira and Kitale. The website has also listed Kitui, Mandera, Manza, Mathare, Mbooni, Meru, Migori, Molo, Mombasa, Mosoriot, Msambweni, Nyandarua, Nyahururu, Nyamache, Nyeri, Othaya, Port Reitz, Rachuonyo, Rera, Siaya, Sigowet, Tana River and Taveta.
Others are Thika, Chwele, Eldoret, Embu, Garissa, Ugenya, Voi, Vihiga, Wajir, Kombewa, Kuria, Kwale, Lake Victoria, Lamu, Lodwar, Loitoktok, Lugari, Machakos, Makindu, Makueni and Webuye.
Cluster subjects
To pursue any certificate course which takes two years (with the exception of nursing which takes two and a half years), you must have a minimum of C- with specific qualifications in cluster subjects in KCSE. For diploma programmes, one must have attained a minimum of C with specific qualifications in cluster subjects.
The scandal comes just days after the college announced that it is set to take in around 13,000 candidates who sat for the 2022 KCSE. This translates to 6.07 per cent of the candidates, in which a total of 119,068 of them scored C- and 95,154 grade C.
The new students will report to the college on March 14, 2023.
Dr Oluoch had said this year’s applications are the largest and far exceed the number of available training slots. Dr Oluoch said KMTC released admission letters to about 13,000 applicants due to the competitiveness of the courses and limited slots available.
KMTC students serve over 450 health facilities during their training, contributing 85 percent of the middle-level workforce. BY DAILY NATION