admin A criteria to evaluate academic journals produced by universities towards regulating publications and ensuring their quality is planning to be developed by Kenya’s Commission for University Education (CUE).
After development of criteria, universities will be required to submit papers for peer review and approval before they are published in journals.
Professor Jackson Too, head of research at the commission, said the development is aimed at curbing plagiarism, falsification of data and infringement of copyright. He added, the criteria will help the regulator evaluate journals published by various universities to ensure they pass the credibility test, weed out unworthy ones and improve others.
“The majority of academic journals published in Kenya are not subjected to the rigours that a refereed journal should go through. Journals must have a robust peer review process that guarantees quality,” said the official.
He said the commission will exercise caution to ensure it did not meddle with the independence of the journal editorial boards.
Regulation of publishing will be accompanied by a review of standards in research to ensure adherence to ethical practices. Such a review will aim to eliminate malpractices such as infringement of publisher rights when using online resources, and ensure that quality is upheld.
According to CUE senior official Professor Grace Njoroge, the review will be done in line with the Universities Act 2012, which mandates the commission to regulate teaching, research and publication in universities.
According to Dr Paul Gichohi, a trainer and librarian contracted by CUE to facilitate the sensitisation workshops, there was a worrying rise in academic dishonesty in universities in Kenya, which at times involved falsification of research data.
The librarian called on CUE to step up measures to help stop predatory journals which he noted were mainly foreign and targeted junior scholars, and whose sole mission was pursuit of money at the expense of quality of research work.
“We need to have a structured guide on scientific publishing practices. We also need to establish our own local journals that are governed by an accrediting body. This could be CUE,” he said. The steps to entrench quality assurance come only a few months after the commission announced it would start accrediting journals.
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