Qualification Authority Equals KMTC’s Higher Diploma to Bachelor’s Degree

The higher diploma from the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) is now equivalent to a bachelor’s degree, the Kenya National Qualifications Authority has ruled.

As such, KMTC’s higher national diploma was upgraded to KNQA level 7, making it equivalent to a degree, Certified Public Accountant (CPA) III, Certified Public Secretary (CPS) or Master Craft Person I.

Speaking on Friday, October 27, KNQA boss Dr Juma Mukhwana said the decision was reached after assessing the competency of students who graduate from KMTC with the diploma certification.

“In the past, we only looked at the number of credits a student has earned throughout the study, but now we factor in competency,” Mukhwana said.

Now, grandaunts with higher national diploma from KMTC can be employed as lecturers to teach in tertiary colleges.

At the same time, universities are free to admit the holders directly to study for some master’s degrees, although only foe programmes that take two years meet the level of degree.

As earlier reported on WoK, the Court of Appeal has ruled that one must attain a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) mean grade of C+ in order to study law in Kenya.

In the ruling which was made on Friday, October 21, the court also clarified that one must attain grade B in either English or Kiswahili to pursue the course.

The court made the ruling in a case where a section of law graduates sued the Kenya School of Law over refusal to admit them for a qualifying postgraduate diploma.

The students were denied admission to the Advocate Training Program with the institution citing low grades.

While inviting applications for the program in 2019, the school had set KCSE minimum qualifications for law graduate or undergraduate students admitted in universities after December 8, 2014.

In the High Court, Judge Joseph Mativo agreed with the students that the requirement on KCSE scores were against the law, adding that the only requirement was having a law degree from a recognized university.

In his ruling, Mativo dismissed letters by the school’s executive director and ordered their admission.

However, the Court of Appeal in May 2021 overturned the decision by the High Court arguing that accepting applicants with low KCSE grades would affect the quality of advocates from the school.

Last Friday, the court ruled that that the requirements by the Kenya School of Law were not discriminatory but lawful.

“The rejection of the respondents who did not meet the [KSCE] requirements was not a violation of their constitutional rights or infringement of any of their rights to education provided under Article 43 (1)(f)

“The decision by the appellant [KSL] declining each and every individual respondent for admission into the ATP for the 2020-21 academic year was made within the law and is upheld,” the court ruled.