A controversial private learning institution that trades under the name Medprime Training College is once again under the spotlight after fresh complaints from learners, who have come forward to reveal that the certificates they struggled to obtain through immense personal sacrifice have turned out to carry little or no recognition in the job market, leaving them stranded with documents that are unable to secure employment and burdened with the painful realization that years of effort, tuition payments, and personal investment have effectively been wasted.
This latest development echoes a scandal that erupted earlier in the year in Eldoret, where students staged noisy protests and marched to police stations after discovering that the institution had been collecting fees amounting to tens of millions of shillings while operating without proper registration by the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) in a revelation that forced directors and lecturers to flee their offices in panic as angry youths demanded answers and refunds.
In Eldoret, parents told reporters that they had sold livestock, maize, and other household assets to fund courses in nursing, dental care, and caregiving, only to later learn that the programs were worthless in the eyes of regulators, while students said their dreams had been crushed in the most humiliating manner, since the certificates they hoped would open doors to jobs and opportunities abroad were in fact pieces of paper without value.
That ugly scene in Eldoret now seems to have been replicated in Kisumu, where a group of learners from Medprime Training College branch in Westlands have gone public with fresh claims that the institution’s promises of professional qualifications and pathways to employment have turned out to be hollow, with allegations of learners being denied access to attachment logbooks unless their outstanding balances were cleared in full, even though earlier agreements had allowed partial payments.
In contrast, others lamented that the college had assigned hospitals located far away from their residences as attachment centers.
This move, students say, was designed to frustrate them and prevent completion of the course.
Students have also complained of being given drinking water from dirty dispensers, of being abandoned to navigate attachments on their own with little to no support, and of being sweet-talked during recruitment drives only to be left helpless once they had paid, a pattern that mirrors the experiences of learners in Eldoret and confirms that the institution has continued to thrive by exploiting desperate families who only want to give their children a chance at a better life through education.
Documents shared by the most recent graduates tell an even more troubling story, for they show transcripts, completion letters, and certificates that appear polished and official, stamped with Medprime Training College seals and signed by persons identifying themselves as medical doctors.
However, questions immediately arise because the very institution issuing them lacks clear accreditation to conduct such training, which means that the certificates are worthless in professional settings and risk condemning holders to unemployment after years of struggle.
One such transcript belonging to a learner who requested anonymity lists multiple modules with credit hours, grades, and signatures, creating the illusion of academic rigour, yet behind the paperwork lies a reality where employers quickly dismiss the qualifications once they realize the awarding institution has no recognized standing with regulators, leaving graduates with no option but to hide the documents altogether or start their studies afresh at great financial and emotional cost.
Even more alarming are the letters of confirmation and certificates of achievement issued to students, which boast of certifications in Basic Life Support and First Aid through SaveaLife.com, yet such qualifications, while recognized for online training, are not substitutes for approvals from the Nursing Council of Kenya, NITA, or other statutory bodies, thereby creating a false impression that graduates have attained professional legitimacy when in fact they have been misled into believing in the power of documents that carry no authority in the Kenyan labour market.
What has angered many parents and guardians is the sense that Medprime Training College operates with impunity, recruiting students through elaborate marketing campaigns, promising life-changing opportunities, and then abandoning them once the payments have been collected, a cycle that appears to be repeating in Kisumu and Nairobi just months after Eldoret students chased tutors through the streets and demanded intervention from the police.
The situation has reached a point where graduates from both branches have begun to question why regulators have remained largely silent, since the institution continues to admit new learners every intake season, continues to advertise courses, and continues to award certificates that cannot secure employment, all while hundreds of families across the country are being stripped of their hard-earned money and left with nothing but disappointment.
“Hi Nyakundi. Please keep my identity hidden. I want to bring to your attention a very serious matter regarding Medprime Training College. The institution is still enrolling students and collecting fees, but the certificates they issue are not recognized anywhere in the job market. Many of us have sacrificed heavily by paying tuition, selling livestock, and investing years of our lives only to discover that the documents we received are worthless when it comes to employment. This is a scandal that needs to be exposed urgently. Medprime is thriving in a regulatory vacuum, exploiting desperate families while hiding behind paperwork and seals that mean nothing in the job market. Unless there is real intervention, the cycle will continue. I thought it was important to share this with you so that the public knows the truth and authorities are forced to act.”
This latest Medprime Training College scandal affair illustrates how private colleges can flourish in a regulatory vacuum, where weak enforcement allows institutions to masquerade as legitimate training centers while in reality they are siphoning money from hopeful students, and that without strong intervention the pattern will continue, with more young people wasting years of their lives in lecture halls that provide no meaningful qualifications.
We will continue to monitor developments at Medprime Training College closely, following up with students, parents, and alumni who have come forward to share their experiences, and we will not relent in demanding clarity and accountability from the institution, while also pressing the Ministry of Education, the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA), the Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK) and other relevant regulatory bodies to explain how such a pattern of exploitation has been allowed to persist unchallenged.
It is clear that repeated warnings, complaints, and public exposure have failed to trigger corrective action, leaving learners to bear the consequences of loopholes in oversight and lax enforcement that allow unscrupulous private colleges to operate under the guise of legitimacy, siphoning money from hopeful students, awarding documents with little or no recognition, and continuing to enroll new learners while the cycle of financial and emotional damage repeats itself.
We will ensure that every possible step is taken to document these claims, hold the perpetrators to account, and bring the full scope of this unfolding scandal to the attention of the public and relevant authorities.
Are you a current or former student of Medprime Training College, or do you have knowledge of other private institutions where learners have been misled, subjected to exploitative conditions, or left with certificates that hold little to no value in the professional world?
We urge you to come forward and share your story with us, either anonymously or openly, as your experiences are vital in helping us uncover the full extent of these practices, protect prospective students from falling into similar traps, and hold institutions, proprietors, and regulatory bodies accountable for their failure to prevent such widespread exploitation, while contributing to a comprehensive record that can inform future oversight, policy adjustments, and public awareness.
