Did you undertake your studies outside Kenya and would like to be employed or further your studies locally? Well. The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has released new guidelines on equation of foreign certificates.

GUIDELINES ON EQUATION OF FOREIGN CERTIFICATES (REVISED EDITION V).

The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) equates school and post school certificates. The conditions for equation are as outlined below:-

Such certificates should have been awarded by an accredited examining board or an institution mandated by law to offer the examination and issue certificates.

Institutional based certificates/courses (local or International) similar to those offered by KNEC are not equitable.

Requirements for equation of foreign certificates by Knec.

For any equation to be undertaken by KNEC, the applicant must have met the entry requirements of the equivalent course(s) offered by KNEC at the time e.g. if someone has taken an equivalent of a P1 course outside the country and seeks equation, they must have attained the Kenyan equivalent entry qualification C (Plain);

Clients seeking equation of Advanced level certificates must provide a copy of the “O” level certificate and the two certificates must be submitted to the Council when seeking equation. The two certificates MUST be authenticated and a confirmation sent to KNEC directly by the awarding institution.

Clients who sat for the KCSE examination and are applying for equation of Advanced Level certificates must have had KCSE mean grade of C (plain).

Clients seeking equation of Advanced Level certificate MUST have achieved a minimum of Division II (two) in Ordinary Level.

The applicant must have covered the subjects that are mandatory for one to satisfy the awarding rules eg for a certificate to be equated to KCSE, the applicant must have sat for 7 (seven) subjects including Mathematics, a language i.e. English, two Sciences and one Humanity.

The applicant must have been under formal instruction for the appropriate number of years/contact hours of study at that particular level as per the KNEC requirements.

All foreign examinations/courses taken locally or internationally but not done in the country of origin of the said examination/course are not equitable to KNEC qualifications.

All courses undertaken through correspondence/distance learning have no equivalence to any KNEC qualification because contact hours by a learner are a requirement by KNEC.

All persons holding foreign qualifications and seeking to join any educational institution (School and Post school) offering KNEC examinations must get an equation/equivalence from KNEC before joining the said institution.

Any person seeking an equation/equivalence and holding a certificate written in any other language than English or Kiswahili must have the certificate translated by the Embassy of their respective country or Alliance Franchise for certificates written in French or any other recognized institution for other languages.

All certificates submitted for equation/equivalence must be verified or confirmed by the Examinations Body that issued the certificate. The confirmation/verification of results should be sent by the Examination Body directly to the Chief Executive Officer, KNEC emailing to ceo@knec.ac.ke.

See also; How to check KCSE 2020 results through KNEC SMS code and download results for all candidates, online

Information required by Knec for equation of foreign certificates

Once the person seeking equation of a certificate has met the above conditions, then he/she will be required to provide the following information:-

• Write a request letter addressed to the Chief Executive Officer, Kenya National Examinations Council, P. O Box 73598-00200 City Square, Nairobi; stating the reason for equation. Indicate the Postal address of the institution or organization which requested for the equation. Secondary School principals seeking for equation of primary school certificates should state the year the students joined the school, at what level and the current level.
• Scan and upload all certificates, ID Card/Passport or a birth certificate for minors under the age of 18 years.
• A client seeking for equation of Ordinary/Advanced Level must provide a copy the Primary level certificate.
• Kenya shillings three thousand, four hundred and eighty (KES. 3,480.00) will be charged for each equation/equivalence letter done. The fee is inclusive of dispatch by Registered Mail.
• Payment mode is MPESA and the system will generate a unique pay bill number and send to the applicant.
• Applicants are advised NOT to pay for the service of equation before their documents are verified by the Kenya National Examinations Council and a unique pay bill number sent to them.
• Applicants who wish to pay from outside Kenya can pay using the Electronic Money Transfers (EFT) using the details below. The payment should be done in US Dollars using the day’s exchange rate. All the transactions charges will be met by the applicant. KNEC must receive the full amount as indicated for equation services. The payment can be made using the banking details below:

Account name: Kenya National Examinations Council; Bank Cooperative; Branch
Cooperative Bank House; Account no.: 01136030120300; Swift Code: kc00KENYA.

• Applicant wishing to have their equation letter emailed, should provide the email address for the institution where the equation letter is to be sent and pay a fee of Kenya shillings, nine hundred and twelve (KES. 928.00) in addition to the processing fees for this service.
• Where there is no existing equation criteria, the applicant shall be requested to provide the following documents from the examining body/Ministry of Education of their country:-

1. A certified copy of the syllabus to show the course content;
2. A letter from the examining board/institution giving details of the mode of assessment/evaluation i.e. Formative and/or summative assessment;
3. Samples of question papers and Marking Schemes;
4. Grading System;
5. A blank certificate sample.

The Kenya National Examinations Council has automated the process of submitting applications for Equation of Foreign Qualification by clients.

The Query Management Information System (QMIS) is accessible online and therefore, clients are required to use the online platform to apply for the service Type the URL: http.//qmis.knec.ac.ke to access the QMIS System.

Note that the equation letter is meant for use by the institution to which it is addressed and therefore SHOULD NOT be given or copied to the candidate/parent/guardian or re-routed to another institution.

KNEC will only equate certificates where a method (formula) for conversion exists and where the curriculum followed is known to KNEC.

Please note that KNEC rules and regulations governing equation/equivalence of certificates are subject to change without Notice.

Manual applications including bank deposit slips will not be accepted.

Knec contacts.

Further inquiries may be sent to;

• The Chief Executive Officer, Kenya National Examinations Council, P. O Box 73598-00200 City Square, Nairobi or
• Email to ceo@knec.ac.ke or equation@knec.ac.ke