Kenya has moved more than 15 million academic records onto the Avalanche C-Chain as part of a new national electronic certificate verification system aimed at replacing slow paper-based checks.
The Kenya National Examinations Council, or KNEC, says the platform allows students to access digital credentials and lets employers, universities and other institutions verify certificates online. The rollout covers records dating back to 1989 and includes the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education cohort, whose certificates are now issued only through KNEC’s electronic platform.
National rollout begins with historical records
KNEC launched the system through a local technology provider, marking a nationwide shift in how academic documents are issued and checked. In its first phase, the platform anchors more than 15 million historical examination records alongside certificates for nearly 1 million candidates who sat the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination in 2025.
By moving these records to a digital verification system, KNEC is replacing a process that had long relied on paper documents, manual requests and centralized record searches. The council says students can download their certificates directly, while approved institutions can confirm whether documents presented by applicants match the official record.
Verification times cut from months to seconds
According to KNEC, the main benefit of the new setup is speed. Certificate checks that previously could take months are now meant to be completed in seconds through the online system.
The records anchored on Avalanche are intended to serve as a tamper-resistant reference for authorized verification. That is particularly relevant in a system built to support checks by employers, universities and other bodies that depend on educational credentials during admissions or hiring.
Expansion plans reach 35 million records
KNEC has said it plans to broaden the system well beyond the initial rollout. The target is about 35 million records in total, covering additional primary and secondary qualifications as well as advanced diplomas and government teacher-training certifications.
If completed at that scale, the project would extend the platform from a secondary school certificate tool into a wider archive for public academic credentials. The article did not say when that expansion would be completed.
Open questions on data and public-sector blockchain use
While the launch adds a large public-sector use case for Avalanche in Kenya, some operational details were not disclosed. The available information did not specify what data fields are stored on-chain, how personal data protections are handled, or what the system costs to run.
The rollout comes as Kenya is also developing broader oversight for digital assets and strengthening cybersecurity measures. For now, the confirmed next step is the planned expansion of the verification platform to millions more records, with its longer-term impact likely to depend on scale and how data protection is managed.
Source: crypto.news