The East African University will hold its fourth graduation ceremony on Friday in Kenya and Uganda.
In the past, graduands congregated with their parents in its graduation square. However, this year, it will conduct the ceremony virtually. This comes in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The university, which grew from the training of school teachers, is based in Kitengela, Kajiado county.
Some 635 graduands from the departments of Business, Computer Studies, and Education will be conferred with degrees and diplomas from the comfort of their homes. University council members will lead the proceedings as students follow online.
Deputy vice-chancellor Thomas Senaji said they adopted ICT systems that enabled efficient online learning and led to the timely and satisfactory completion of studies.
“The system ensures students access learning materials online and interact with their lecturers virtually, which is in line with the presidential health and Covid-19 guidelines,” Dr Senaji said in an interview.
The university was founded in Uganda before it expanded into Kenya in 2005 to offer teacher training courses. Its programmes became popular with teachers who sought to upgrade their skills. It has been operating under a letter of interim authority granted by the Commission for University Education in 2010 — three years after it applied for approval.
"We initially began with 80 students who attended a school-based tuition model in our Nyeri outpost. We were running a four-week programme, though it would be interrupted by government officials who demanded the requisite paperwork before we could continue teaching,” Dr Senaji said.
In efforts to adhere to the directive, the pioneer students in Kenya were moved to the main campus in Ggaba, Uganda.
The institution later made a follow-up with the commission to comply with its requirements, and eventually acquired land in Kitengela, where the 100-acre branch is located. It also has campuses in Kampala and Rwanda.
Edited by F'Orieny
