Kenyatta University
Encyclopedia
Kenyatta University, located in Nairobi
, Kenya
is the second largest public university in the country (after University of Nairobi
). The University is located in Kahawa
, about 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) from Nairobi's city centre, along the Nairobi-Thika
road.
was incorporated by the then-president Daniel arap Moi
and was renamed Kenyatta University. This was done through establishment of the Kenyatta University Acthttp://www.puib.go.ke/Legislation/Kenyatta/ku.pdf by the National Assembly of Kenya
.
The majority of its graduates were from the school of education, making the university a leader in education courses. Over time the college has diversified its course offerings to remain competitive and help achieve the national goals of eradicating ignorance
.
It has built a morgue with the introduction of surgery and medicine courses. The university is building more labs and reviving projects that had been stalled for years, including completion of an arts complex. More effort is being put on the flow of information by investing in communication channels and getting feedback from students. This includes a community radio, which is streamed via the Internet to the satellite campuses across Kenya.
The Arts Complex (phases 1 and 2) that houses the university radio station KU 99.9 FM, 2 hostels (Nyayo 5 and 6), New Lecture Halls (Onesmo OleMoiyoi Lecture Thetre) and the science laboratories have been finalized. Another milestone has been the completion of a large 5 storey laboratory and library unit that is visible from the Thika road; it is rumoured to accommodate all 24,000 students as well as an amphitheatre.
A state of the art Business and Student Servive Center was opened on May 2009 that has facilities including the office os the dean of students, food courts, banks, post office, Student governance offices, mentoring offices, the university printing press, a computer laboratory which is meant to be open for 224 hours and aa reading room just to mention a few.
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
is the second largest public university in the country (after University of Nairobi
University of Nairobi
The University of Nairobi is the largest university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution goes back to 1956, it did not become an independent university until 1970 when the University of East Africa was split into three independent universities: Makerere University in...
). The University is located in Kahawa
Kahawa
Kahawa is a suburb and civic ward of Nairobi, Kenya. The ward is part of Kasarani Constituency. Kahawa is located in the northeastern outskirts of Nairobi, along Thika Road ....
, about 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) from Nairobi's city centre, along the Nairobi-Thika
Thika
Thika is an industrial town in Central Province, Kenya, lying on the A2 road 40 km north east of Nairobi, near the confluence of Thika River & Chania River. Thika has a population of 200,000and is growing rapidly, as is the entire greater Nairobi area...
road.
History
The university traces it history to a colonial military installation known as the Templer Barracks. In 1965 Templer Barracks was converted into Kenyatta College, primarily a teacher training institution (majorly S1 graduates). Kenyatta College was then elevated to a constituent college of the University of Nairobi in 1970. In 1985 the university collegeUniversity college
The term "university college" is used in a number of countries to denote college institutions that provide tertiary education but do not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university...
was incorporated by the then-president Daniel arap Moi
Daniel arap Moi
Daniel Toroitich arap Moi was the President of Kenya from 1978 until 2002.Daniel arap Moi is popularly known to Kenyans as 'Nyayo', a Swahili word for 'footsteps'...
and was renamed Kenyatta University. This was done through establishment of the Kenyatta University Acthttp://www.puib.go.ke/Legislation/Kenyatta/ku.pdf by the National Assembly of Kenya
National Assembly of Kenya
The unicameral National Assembly of Kenya is the country's legislative body.The current National Assembly has a total of 224 members. 210 members are directly elected in single member constituencies using the simple majority system...
.
The majority of its graduates were from the school of education, making the university a leader in education courses. Over time the college has diversified its course offerings to remain competitive and help achieve the national goals of eradicating ignorance
Ignorance
Ignorance is a state of being uninformed . The word ignorant is an adjective describing a person in the state of being unaware and is often used as an insult...
.
Schools
Today the university has the following schools:- School of Agriculture and Enterprise Development
- School of Humanities and Social Sciences
- School of Business (with three major departments: Accounting and Finance, Management Science, and Business Administration)
- School of Economics
- School of Education
- School of Engineering (taken from School of Pure and Applied Sciences; courses in this school normally take five years to complete with a few being four-year courses)
- School of Environmental Studies
- School of Graduate studies
- School of Health Sciences
- School of Humanities and Social Sciences
- School of Law-newly established. Currently in its second year and is offered in Parklands Campus.
- School of Pure and Applied Sciences
- School of Visual and Performing Arts
- School of Hospitality & Tourism Management
Current status
The university has open-learning, e-learning, school-based, part-time and full-time teaching. This has transformed the institution into the second largest in Kenya. In 1997 it had about 8,000 students. As of 2009, has about 24,000 students.Current initiative
Kenyatta University has embarked on a rapid expansion strategy aimed at making it a world-class university and at expanding the courses it offers. To achieve this, the university has created a solid ICT infrastructure which includes a campus network based on fibre optic technology, gigabit access to the network for both students and staff to facilitate access to the Internet and localized information services.It has built a morgue with the introduction of surgery and medicine courses. The university is building more labs and reviving projects that had been stalled for years, including completion of an arts complex. More effort is being put on the flow of information by investing in communication channels and getting feedback from students. This includes a community radio, which is streamed via the Internet to the satellite campuses across Kenya.
The Arts Complex (phases 1 and 2) that houses the university radio station KU 99.9 FM, 2 hostels (Nyayo 5 and 6), New Lecture Halls (Onesmo OleMoiyoi Lecture Thetre) and the science laboratories have been finalized. Another milestone has been the completion of a large 5 storey laboratory and library unit that is visible from the Thika road; it is rumoured to accommodate all 24,000 students as well as an amphitheatre.
A state of the art Business and Student Servive Center was opened on May 2009 that has facilities including the office os the dean of students, food courts, banks, post office, Student governance offices, mentoring offices, the university printing press, a computer laboratory which is meant to be open for 224 hours and aa reading room just to mention a few.
Campuses
Kenyatta University is continually expanding and has opened additional campuses apart from its main campus. The campuses include:City Campus
Located at the heart of Nairobi City, Haile Sellasie avenue, to cater for the growing number of students in the city center.Parklands Campus
Located in Parklands near Nairobi city Center: This campus offers business and I.T. related course at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The campus also offers LL.B. (Bachelors of Law)Ruiru Campus
This campus is located at Ruiru town, less than five kilometers from the main campus. It is generally an extension of the main campus. This campus does not offer the full range of subjects offered at the main campus.Mombasa Campus
This campus is situated in Mombasa town along the coastal strip of Kenya. It began operation in May 2007.Kitui Campus
It began operation in October 2007. It is among the smaller campuses. It is currently among the most fast developing campuses of Kenyatta University due to the increasing number of student admission. The campus is found along Machakos-Kitui road a place known as Kwavonza..Kericho Campus
This campus is located in Kericho Town. It is also among the smaller campuses. The major course being offered in this campus is Education.Management
The current chancellor is Justice (Rtd) Onesimus Mutungi installed in December 2010 and the Vice Chancellor is Prof. Olive Mugenda, who is the first female vice chancellor of a public university in Kenya. Under the vice chancellor, there are three deputy vice chancellors and three registrars.Deputy Vice Chancellors
- DVC Academic: Prof. John Okumu
- DVC Administration: Prof. P.K. Wainaina
- DVC Finance, Planning and Development: Prof. Daniel N. Mugendi
Registrars
- Registrar Academic: Dr. Daniel M. Muindi
- Registrar Administration: Prof. Godfrey Mse
- Registrar Finance, Planning and Development: Dr. Nelson Karagu