Kenya's Information Communication Technology Practitioners Act has caused outrage with a petition to urge the ICT CS Joseph Mucheru to kill the Bill gaining over 8,000 signatures in the first 24 hours. As highlighted earlier, the regulation seeks to license ICT Practitioners in Kenya and defines who qualifies to be licensed.

In this article we look at who meets the cut.

Requirements to be a licensed ICT practitioner in Kenya

Here is a list of the possible paths to getting licensed if the Bill is passed.

  1. A Bachelor’s Degree in ICT related field from a recognized university. This could be Computer Science, Information Technology, Telecommunication, or Computer Engineering.
  2. A Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mathematics, or Physics, with at least one year of post-qualification experience in the ICT field.
  3. A Diploma in Computer Science, Information Technology, Telecommunication, or Computer Engineering, with three years post qualification experience in the ICT field.
  4. A Bachelor's Degree (any) from a recognized University with at least three years of post-qualification experience in ICT.
  5. Any person who has demonstrated expertise, innovation, or competence in ICT as may be determined by the council.
Who qualifies to be an ICT practitioner in Kenya according to the new proposed Bill?

From the above, it is clear that a degree is not necessary as in the previous Bills. However, potential barriers are just too many.

Here are a few:

  1. Who defines a recognized University? You might find out that certain Universities are not allowed to offer ICT courses, but they still do. Having a degree from such may not be recognized. This is a problem that Engineers have faced in Kenya under the hands of the Engineers Board of Kenya.
  2. The other channels require a waiting period before one can be registered. Having a relevant Diploma will require one to have a three-year of experience before they can be registered. This is a barrier for perfectly skilled people who have shown competence even before getting a Diploma.
  3. What amounts to sufficient experience? This is a grey area that could be used to discriminate against some people.
  4. A person who does not have a degree will need to prove themselves first before they can be registered. How do they prove themselves when it is illegal for them to practice ICT?

These are some questions that need to be answered by the Ministry of ICT.

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