Kenya’s military joined the world of academia when President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday inaugurated the National Defence University-Kenya.
This, according to Uhuru reaffirms the government’s commitment to empowering the country’s defence, security and governance professionals through the provision of quality training.
Speaking during the inauguration ceremony in Lanet, Nakuru, the President said without high-quality human capital, the pursuit of sustained socio-economic development will remain a mere dream.
“In the past, the focus has been on non-security related education with narrow-mind thinking that higher education was not particularly relevant for the security sector,” he said.
“As part of our broad reforms in the education sector, my administration has had to rethink this view because we equally need strategic thinkers even in the security sector.”
The institution is the first public university to be established under Section 24 of the Universities Act 2012 as an entity of national strategic importance.
Uhuru who is also the chancellor expressed satisfaction that the institution has joined the ranks of a few international universities mandated to offer high-quality security-related training and education programmes.
He said the establishment of the university aligns well with the overall government strategy of crystalising the reforms in education.
The President awarded a charter creating the university that will confer specialised degrees and offer courses in the fields of defence, security and strategy on May 27.
He said the university will contribute to strengthening Kenya’s position as an education hub and enhance the country’s capacity to align with the evolving regional and global security environment.
Partnering with relevant stakeholders in developing capacities at various levels of national defence and security architecture, Uhuru said the university will enrich the country’s multi-agency and whole-of-government approach to service delivery.
“The National Defence University-Kenya as a national think-tank shall play an active role in transforming our peace and security frameworks for posterity,” he said.
He urged the university council and management to optimise the institution’s capabilities and align its programmes with best practices through mentorship and benchmarking to ensure continuous improvement of human capital and infrastructure.
“As I prepare to pass the leadership baton to the next administration, I wish to state that it has been an honour for me to serve as your Commander-in-Chief and I appreciate your support in building our nation,” Uhuru said.
Chief of the Defence Forces General Robert Kibochi said the institution stands out as one of the pillars of training in higher education and research in entire Africa.
“There aren’t very many of them and this will stand out,” General Kibochi said.
Present at the ceremony were Defence Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa and military top brass including the university’s vice chancellor Lt. General J. M. Mwangi among other senior government officials.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
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