The Institution of Surveyors of Kenya has raised concern over the increasing number of unqualified practitioners and poorly equipped institutions offering survey-related courses in Kenya.
Speaking during a press briefing at the Inaugural Kenya Geospatial and Real Estate Conference in Mombasa, ISK President Eric Nyadimo warned that some institutions are training students using unqualified personnel.
“Our biggest challenge with some of these polytechnics is that the people teaching survey courses are not even surveyors,” said Nyadimo.
He accused some institutions of mounting professional courses without adequate resources, saying the trend is doing more harm than good to the profession.
Nyadimo questioned the role of Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority (TVETA) in approving such programmes and called for stricter oversight.
He also urged the government to amend the Commission for University Education Act to allow professional and regulatory bodies to participate in accreditation processes.
“There is no need for parents to spend a lot of money educating their children on courses that at the end of the day cannot allow them to be registered,” he said.
Nyadimo further raised alarm over the growing number of quacks operating in the land and real estate sector, saying weak legal frameworks and underfunded regulatory boards have made enforcement difficult.
“We cannot deal with quacks if regulatory boards have budgets of one million or four million shillings a year,” he said.
The ISK president revealed that the institution has already engaged the Head of Public Service and plans to hold talks with the National Treasury to push for increased funding for professional regulatory boards.
He said stronger regulation and proper resourcing would help professional bodies effectively police the industry and protect members of the public from fraud and malpractice.
Nyadimo added that the conference resolutions will be forwarded to the government to support policy reforms and identify areas requiring further training and capacity building within the profession.
