The University on top of the Mountain
Since 2002, Kenya has seen high transition rate from primary to secondary level of education, it has seen those yearning for higher education grow more than expected level. As a result Thika-based Mount Kenya University (MKU) was the 12th private university to be awarded a Charter by the Kenya Government at a ceremony which was presided over by President Mwai Kibaki on January 26, 2011.
However, the story of Mount Kenya University is not only a successful one but also inspiring. From a rented classrooms in Thika town to a world class university which has produced various professionals in
to the job market. Today, Mount Kenya University is the only private University in Kenya licensed to offer pharmacy by the Kenya pharmacy and Poisons board of the Ministry of Health in 2005.
Born from the Thika institute of technology, the history of Mount Kenya University dates back to 1996 when the institution was founded to offer computer outreach programs.
The institution has through the time both as Thika institute of Technology and Mount Kenya University seen the creation of professions not only in information technology but also in Journalism and Mass Communication, Business, Pure and applied sciences, Law, Education and finally Medicine.
In 2000, the institution was approved to offer degrees and diploma in collaboration with Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. In 2008 Thika institute of Technology welcomed Mount Kenya university and 3 years into operation the government chartered the institution in 2011 and 2 years as a chartered institution it was given ISO9001:2008 certification by the Kenya Bureau of Standards.
The certification of Mount Kenya University affirms the university’s credentials in quality service provision which come along with the certificate and compliments the charter it was awarded by the president of Kenya in 2011.
According to the University’s chancellor Prof. Victoria Wuslin the certification is fulfillment of the promises made in 2008 when the university was given an interim Letter of operation. “We promised to give quality education and training as well as research whose application could change society,” he said.
Among the changes the institution has gone through since the awarding of the charter in 2011 include, an ultra Modern Journalism studio which has radio sections, TV news desk, post Production desk, Modern TV HDV cameras, Newsroom with equipped computers not only in the Main Campus but in all its campuses where it trains journalism. In its campus in Kigali, Rwanda Mount Kenya University acquired facilities to enable the training of journalism issue oriented.
As a chartered institution, Mount Kenya University became a fully-fledged university ceasing to operate on interim Letter of Authority for 2 years and half. "The Charter will make our degrees more international and marketable in the job industry," said the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof Stanley Waudo. Mount Kenya University is not only Kenya’s leading private university but commands the region, hence its East Africa’s fastest growing university. The institution has been working with the Rwandan government in the economic blueprint of Vision 2020.
In the last 2 years the institution has also signed various memorandum of understanding with the government in order to foster the private-public partnership in the provisions of quality man power.
In August 2011 Mount Kenya University joined in the tri-Lateral Network for a Knowledge-Driven Economy with Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA) and the Government through the Ministry of Trade. Under the tri-lateral network the institution was to benefit in the areas of field research, consultancy, training, information, dissemination and promotion of knowledge.
Mount Kenya University Vice-Chancellor has said that the institution has taken the initiative of supplementing the effort of the government to support the less fortunate by offering 15 county full-Tuition scholarships in every academic year targeting the needy and Bright students. “Our aim is to enable bright students from Counties where MKU has Very little presence to scale the heights of education,” says Prof Waudo.
However the charter has impacted the institution role of offering higher education and the funding of the students through the Higher Education has been over doubling. In the financial year 2010/11 the board disbursed kshs14, 864,500 for the Undergraduate while the post graduate got Kshs1.44 Million a total of kshs16.3M.
In the financial year 2011/12 the board tripled the disbursement for the undergraduate from ksh14.9m to ksh43.3M while increasing that of the post graduate to ksh3.6M a total of ksh46.9
In the current financial year the board yet again doubled the figure for undergraduate to ksh96.6 and reduced the one for post graduate to ksh1.47 a total of ksh98m a clear indication of the growth and trust of the private chartered non profit making university which so far has promoted innovation.
On my part as a former student of the institution, Mount Kenya University did not give me the training I wanted but also closely monitored to make sure that the training was in line with the current job market of the noble field of journalism.
Despite the various challenges that I went through mount Kenya University ensured that the training labs i.e. the Newsroom, recording room, Post-production desk, photography, feature writing and participation in the universities PR activities gave us a picture of the modern Media world.
I liked the culture that the institution adopted to train their students in all fields and today have a role to play in any media house we work for. The team work was super and journalism involves that. I have the confidence in me that Mount Kenya University believed in me and so I believed in myself in saying if others can do I can do better.
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