1.0 BRIEF INTRODUCTION

Licensing professional examinations are examinations offered to graduates of nutrition and dietetics at certificate, diploma and degree levels from KNDI accredited institutions. Under section 13 of the Nutritionists and Dieticians Act No. 18 of 2007: CAP 253B, the Accreditation Committee of KNDI is mandated to;

“……………………………………………

(a) provide proper training of persons to be registered and licensed;

(b) prepare syllabuses of instruction and training courses for persons seeking registration under the Act;

(c) prepare and conduct examinations for persons seeking registration under the Act;

(d) charge the appropriate examination fees in consultation with the Council of the Institute;

(e) prepare regulations to be made by the Institute regarding the standard of proficiency to be gained in each examination for a diploma, degree or other award;

(f) develop regulations for internship programmes for students of nutrition and dietetics
during pre-service training;

……………………………………………”

And so, all graduates of nutrition and dietetics at certificate, diploma or degree levels MUST UNDERTAKE licensing professional examinations before they can be licensed to practice under CAP 253B in Kenya.

Goal of the Licensing Professional Examinations

The goal is to;

1. Allow for the classification of nutrition and dietetics graduates as professionals; Certificate level registrants as Technicians, diploma level registrants as Technologists and degree level registrants as Nutritionists as per their specific professional areas of interest.
2. Ascertaining that the students have gone through the KNDI core curriculum successfully and thus can be certified as professionals.
3. Instill hands on skill in nutrition and dietetics through internship program for the degree graduates in nutrition and dietetics.

2.0 ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Each applicant/student/candidate MUST have;

1. Met the KNDI Legalized Entry Grades for admission into the nutrition and dietetics program at certificate, diploma and degree levels; https://www.kndi.institute/notices/Legal_Notice_160_267_Entry_Grades.pdf. If you have not met fully the legalized entry grades, you shall be required to apply for aptitude and professional upgrade examinations.
2. Successfully applied for KNDI Professional Indexing and be issued with KNDI Index Number.  To verify the status of Professional Indexing follow this link https://osp.kndi.institute/#/indexing/verify/status
3. Completed the full duration of the programme of study at certificate, diploma and degree levels in foods, nutrition and dietetics in a KNDI accredited institutions.
   • (a) The institution should be training their students by following the approved KNDI core curriculum (certificate, diploma and degree core curriculum guidelines).
   • (b) The candidate/applicant/student must have passed the final examination in the KNDI accredited institutions and attained a minimum grade of pass as evidenced by presentation of a certificate and transcripts in respective area of training.
   • (c) Certificate and Diploma students should have sat for KNEC examinations, certificate up to module II and diploma up to module III, if they trained from Middle Level Colleges other than KMTC and universities.
4. Degree students MUST have;
   • (a) Applied, sat and passed oral examinations. To find out more visit our oral examinations details page; https://www.kndi.institute/kndi-oral-examinations/ 

3.0 LICENSING PROFESSIONAL EXAMS FEE/COST

Licensing professional examinations are charged as per legal notice no 216; https://www.kndi.institute/notices/legal_notice_fees.pdf

1. Degree level examinations; Kshs. 10,000/=
2. Diploma level examinations; Kshs. 10,000/=
3. Certificate level examinations; Kshs. 6,000/=

Note 1:

First installments of exams (Kshs. 5,000/=) in either of these categories is paid when applying for KNDI professional indexing and the remaining will be paid when or immediately after sitting for licensing professional examinations.

Unsuccessful students/candidates (those who have failed) can only RESIT ONCE the licensing professional examinations by re-applying in the next period. Such applicants will be required to pay Kshs. 6, 000/= as exam resit fee as per the invoice generated from the KNDI OSP the application.

4.0 SCOPE OF THE LICENSING PROFESSIONAL EXAMINATIONS

The licensing professional examinations shall be offered twice in a year in the months of June and November. The licensing professional examinations are classified as follows;

Table 1: Type of licensing professional examinations options for the 3 levels of training

Level of Training	Type of Licensing Professional Examinations Options
Certificate level	1.      Nutrition and Dietetics Technician Professional Examination
Diploma level	1.      Nutrition Technologist Professional Examination 2.      Dietetics Technologist Professional Examination
Degree level	1.      Clinical Nutrition Professional Examination 2.      Clinical Dietetics Professional Examination 3.      Community Nutrition Professional Examination 4.      Public Health Nutrition Professional Examination 5.      Food Science Nutrition Professional Examination 6.      Food Service Diet Therapist Professional Examination

Note 2:

1. When making application, please take note of the type of professional examinations option selected.
2. Your registration certificate and practice license will bear the name of the professional examination option sat for.

The number of papers to be offered as per the 3 levels of training shall be as follows as determined by the Accreditation Committee: -

Certificate level professional examinations shall be administered as 1 (one) paper

Nutrition and dietetics technician exam which examines general nutrition and dietetics principles and life skills.

Diploma level professional examinations shall be administered as 2 (two) papers

1. Paper 1 shall comprise of general nutrition and dietetics principles.
2. Paper 2 shall be specialized as per the chosen area of interest for each applicant (Nutrition or Dietetics).

This will apply in the two specialized areas in diploma;

1. Nutrition Technologist Professional Examinations
2. Dietetics Technologist Professional Examinations

The examinable units that differentiate these two areas of specialization is available at; Downloads | Kenya Nutritionists & Dieticians Institute (KNDI)

Degree level professional examinations shall be administered as 2 (two) papers

1. Paper 1 shall comprise of general nutrition and dietetics principles.
2. Paper 2 shall be specialized as per the competency acquired from the 1-year KNDI internship program

This will apply for each of the 6 specialties at degree level as follows:

1. Clinical Nutrition Professional examination (CLN)
2. Clinical Dietetics Professional examination (CLD)
3. Community Nutrition Professional examination (CMN)
4. Public Health Nutrition Professional examination (PHN)
5. Food Service Diet Therapy Professional examination (FSDT)
6. Food Science Nutrition Professional examination (FSN)

The KNDI internship policy guideline that categorizes these 6 levels of professionalism at degree level is available at; https://www.kndi.institute/internship/guidelines_2020.pdf

The examinable units that differentiate these 6 areas of specialization is available at; Downloads | Kenya Nutritionists & Dieticians Institute (KNDI)

5.0 DOCUMENTS REQUIRED WHEN APPLYING FOR LICENSING PROFESSIONAL EXAMINATIONS

Each individual student/applicant/candidate will be required to provide the following attachments in the online application;

Table 2: Documents to be uploaded when applying for licensing professional examinations

Level of Training	Type of Licensing Professional Examinations Options	Documents to be Uploaded/Attached
Certificate level	1.       Nutrition and Dietetics Technician	Scanned copy in PDF format only of; i)      KCSE certificate ii)    The 2 KNEC modules (upon meeting eligibility criteria 3(a), (b) and (c) in section 2.0 above) iii)   Transcripts iv)   Certificate
Diploma level	1.       Nutrition Technologist 2.       Dietetics Technologist	Scanned copy in PDF format only of; i)      KCSE certificate ii)     The 3 KNEC modules (upon meeting eligibility criteria 3(a), (b) and (c) in section 2.0 above) iii)    Transcripts iv)   Certificate
Degree level	1.       Clinical Nutrition 2.       Clinical Dietetics 3.       Community Nutrition 4.       Public Health Nutrition 5.       Food Science Nutrition 6.       Food Service Diet Therapy	Scanned copy in PDF format only of; i)      KCSE certificate ii)     Transcripts iii)    Certificate

Note: 3

1. All transcripts/results slips/KNEC Modules must be scanned in one continuous PDF file and uploaded in the “transcripts attachment section” when making online application.
2. Students are advised to visit nearby cyber cafes for scanning of the documents required. 

SECTION 6.0 CALENDAR FOR 2024 AND HOW TO APPLY FOR THE LICENSING PROFESSIONAL EXAMINATIONS

6.1 Calendar for Licensing Professional Examinations 2024

PROFESSIONAL LICENSING EXAMINATIONS CALENDAR 2024
Degree Level Examinations
ITEM	PHASE 1 (Closed)	PHASE 2 (Open)	FEE CHARGED (Kes)
Professional written licensing examinations application (Degree)	3rd June – 14th June 2024		Kes 5,000.00 2nd installment
Professional written licensing examinations application deadline (Degree)	14th June 2024	31st October 2024
Professional written licensing examinations administration (Degree)	27th – 28th June 2024	14th - 15th November 2024	NA
Certificate and Diploma Level Examinations
ITEM	PHASE 1 (Closed)	PHASE 2 (Open)	FEE CHARGED (Kes)
Professional written licensing examinations application (Diploma & Certificate)	1st December 2023 – 14th June 2024	1st Aug - 31st October 2024	2nd installment Certificate 1,000 Diploma 5,000
Professional written licensing examinations application deadline (Diploma & Certificate)	14th June 2024	31st October 2024
Professional written licensing examinations administration (Diploma & Certificate)	24th – 26th June 2024	11th - 13th November 2024	NA

The Application Window for November 2024 is Closed

6.2 How to apply for the Licensing Professional Examinations

The KNDI licensing professional examinations application processes are done online through the KNDI OSP available at; https://osp.kndi.institute/#/register

Once your application is received, assessed and approved, visit this webpage for updates, notices and proceedings on the forthcoming examinations; https://www.kndi.institute/professional-licensing-examination-preparation-instructions/

7.0 OUTCOME OF THE LICENSING PROFESSIONAL EXAMINATIONS

Successful applicants (students who pass) licensing professional examinations shall be approved by the Accreditation Committee and the KNDI Council to apply for certification and registration as follows;

Table 3: Title on the registration certificate or practice license  as  per the exam sat for

Level of Training	Type of Licensing Professional Examination Sat for	Registration and Certification Title/Name/Classification
Certificate	Nutrition and dietetics technician	Nutrition and Dietetics Technician
Diploma	Nutrition	Nutrition Technologist
	Dietetics	Dietetics Technologist
Degree	Clinical Nutrition	Clinical Nutritionist
	Clinical Dietetics	Clinical Dietician
	Food Service Diet Therapy	Food Service Diet Therapist
	Public Health Nutrition	Public Health Nutritionist
	Community Nutrition	Community Nutritionist
	Food Science Nutrition	Food Science Nutritionist

Contacts

If you have questions about aptitude and professional upgrade course and examinations, please contact;

Call Hotline 1: +254 0112 514 865

Call Hotline 2: +254 0738 608 882

Email; info@kndi.institute or exam@kndi.institute

Website: www.kndi.institute