Commercial academic cheating from a Kenyan perspective: tackling the challenge of implementing legal and institutional reforms

Abstract

With a focus on Kenya and an analysis of the Australian context, this paper delves into the intricate issue of commercial academic cheating in the academic setting. The study carefully investigates the challenges posed by the blurred nature of acceptable academic assistance and commercial academic fraud. According to statistics, over 60% of students are likely to contract their work more than once, and roughly 3.52% of students engage in commercial academic cheating. In addressing the widespread prevalence of commercial academic cheating in Kenya, this paper draws attention to the absence of specific laws intended to address this type of academic dishonesty. Addressing this matter is essential to preserving academic integrity, maintaining the validity of educational credentials, and discouraging unethical behavior that diminishes the significance of education. This paper's methodology, which focuses on evaluating current legislation and suggesting legislative changes to make commercial academic cheating illegal in Kenya, is based on doctrinal legal research. The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Amendment (Prohibiting Academic Cheating Services) Act 2020 of Australia influences this legislative approach. This method entails an analysis of statutes, case law, and institutional structures in order to formulate practical solutions for dealing with commercial academic cheating in the Kenyan context. The findings emphasize how urgently Kenya needs specialized legislation to make commercial academic cheating illegal and effectively discourage academic fraud. It stresses the significance of precise definitions and severe sanctions to counter commercial academic cheating taking cues from Australia's legal system. The paper's conclusion urges relevant authorities in Kenya to adopt specific penal code measures in order to outlaw commercial academic cheating and preserve academic integrity. It also emphasizes on the need for capacity building and promotion of the orange economy to create employment opportunities. Overall the paper insists that the criminalisation of commercial academic cheating in Kenya requires effective legal and institutional reforms.