Mount Kenya University's Kigali campus has been granted a charter by Rwandan President Paul Kagame, allowing it to rebrand as Mount Kigali University and operate as a fully-fledged institution.
The Rwandan government, through the Prime Minister's office, announced the news on Friday following a Cabinet meeting chaired by President Paul Kagame.
MKU regional marketing and communications director Henry Musisi said the rebranding and a new charter will enable the institution to operate autonomously across Rwanda and independently from its counterpart in Thika, Kenya.
He said that the university's new status will enable it to offer quality services, and the focus will be on producing graduates with employability skills relevant to the market.
He said that the branding and awarding of charter will simplify the learning process and graduation procedures.
Musisi expressed gratitude to the Rwandan government for providing a favourable environment for Mount Kigali University to operate. He said that with the university now established, they plan to further invest in the School of Business, health training and research, as well as the hospitality and tourism sectors.
He said their primary objective will be to produce graduates with practical skills applicable to the job market.
"We express our sincere gratitude to the Rwandan government for providing us with a favourable operational environment," Musisi said.
"With the establishment of Mount Kigali University, we plan to further expand our investments in the School of Business, health training and research, and hospitality and tourism sectors.
"Our primary goal is to produce graduates with relevant employability skills that meet the demands of the market," Musisi said.
MKU founder and chairman Prof Simon Gicharu told the Star the change of the university status in Rwanda will enhance service delivery quality education skills to all.
“With the growing number of students, we thought it would be wise to make MKU, Rwanda autonomous to serve them better. And the government of President Paul Kagame continues to be very supportive. We thank him for this,” he said.
Gicharu said students will no longer have to travel to Thika to sort out administration issues as well as attend graduation ceremonies as Mount Kigali University is now fully pledged.
The Kigali campus offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, diplomas and certificates in various disciplines.
In addition, the university recently initiated the construction of Sh500 million Kigali Paramount Hotel, which is expected to function as the regional training centre for hospitality and tourism programmes, aiming to target the broader East African market.
The hotel is scheduled to be fully completed by the end of this year.
Benson Abuto, who heads MKU Rwanda’s Hospitality and Tourism Department,said the department, backed by the hotel, could perform a similar role as Kenya Utalii College, training for the region.
(Edited by V. Graham)
