A change in law in 2013 is behind the revocation of accreditation and forced closure of the Kenya Institute of Management (KIM), throwing 100,000 former students and 10,000 current learners into a spin.

The 72-year-old business school got into trouble after it failed to seek a fresh review and approval of its diploma and certificate courses in line with the legal requirements.

The regulator reckoned that KIM has been offering unapproved courses and blamed the institution for engaging trainers without valid licences in breach of the law.

Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority (TVETA) Director-General Timothy Nyongesa said the crisis is rooted in a regulatory shift that began more than a decade ago.

“The law required all institutions that had been established under the repealed Education Act to seek accreditation within two years,” Mr Nyongesa said, referring to new provisions under the TVET Act of 2013.

But even that timeline, he said, was extended.

“The board, then, from 2015 was very realistic and said, we cannot start counting from 2013. Let’s start counting from 2015 and give them two years,” he said.

“But an ordinary diploma duration is three years, so from 2015, whereas the law says two years, we said let’s give three years so that students who are in class can complete their diplomas. So that’s how the year 2018 comes in.”

From that point, KIM was expected to align its training, assessment and certification with approved awarding bodies.

Instead, the regulator said, the institution continued issuing what it termed “internal qualifications.”

“The first notice we gave to KIM was in 2021, telling them that what they are offering was internal qualifications, which was not good,” Mr Nyongesa said.

Despite audits, follow-ups and meetings—including engagements as recent as 2025—the DG says the situation did not change.

“So in August 2025, we called them for a meeting and our resolutions included… that they should actually get to do programmes that are approved,” said Mr Nyongesa, adding that KIM had proposed to form a partnership with other accredited colleges for compliance, a plan that never materialised.

This failure to transition is what ultimately triggered enforcement.

While one of the critical questions has been why it took so long for the crackdown to happen, Mr Nyongesa insists the delay was not inaction, but a deliberate attempt to engage before enforcement.

The institution calls itself a nonprofit business school.

It offers seven diploma courses ranging from business management to human resources as well as purchasing and supplies for Sh126,000. The college also offers eight certificate courses and 15 professional certifications.

KIM counts a number of top executives as its alumni.

The business school maintains that it has not been operating in defiance, but rather navigating a complex and evolving regulatory environment.

Read: Regulator directs employers to shun KIM certificates

Chief Executive Muriithi Ndegwa said the institution has been in discussions with TVETA and other bodies over the years.

“We have been in discussions with TVETA, not just because of this letter, but even in the past, and will continue to hold discussions with TVETA so that we can establish a way forward,” he said.

“In a grave matter like this, you’d expect that there would be some timeframe within which to discuss… for the benefit of the students.”

Dr Ndegwa estimates the number of students who have passed through the KIM’s diploma and certificate programmes since 2018 to be in the region of 100,000, adding that about 10,000 are currently enrolled.

For now, he insists, the institution remains operational in areas outside TVETA regulation, notably training and consultancies.

The regulator reckons that the fate of the affected KIM graduates and learners rests with the Cabinet Secretary.

“There is a window for appeal to the Cabinet Secretary for KIM, but as it stands, the law is clear. Certificates and diplomas issued from 2018 onwards should not have been awarded,” said Mr Nyongesa.

“There's a window in Section 37.2 of the Tvet Act which gives them (KIM) room to appeal the decision of the board, and from that point, then the Cabinet Secretary will guide.”

→ kmwangi@ke.nationmedia.com

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