Mount Kenya University held its 23rd graduation ceremony in Thika on Friday at a ceremony that saw 6,018 students awarded with degrees, certificates and diplomas.
During the ceremony, the university awarded the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court Karim Khan an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in recognition of his work in promotion of justice and equality as well as supporting community-based schools.
Khan was conferred on the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (Honoris Causa) of Mount Kenya University. This, the university said, was in line with his broad contributions to the public good through cross-cutting interventions in community-based education support.
“Mr Khan has contributed immensely towards the transformation of society by providing educational support to children in different parts of the world and women empowerment through community-based activities," read a citation by the university.
The university adds that Khan and his wife have a passion in support of vulnerable women and children through their family-driven foundation, the Alagendra Foundation.
Through the foundation, the Khans have supported community-based schools over the years in a number of countries, including Kenya, Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka.
The Alagendra Foundation support to community-based schools in Maasailand, Kenya, has led to major educational gains in the region. Among the schools supported are the Oltarara Alagendra Academy, located at Mara Forest in the Masai Mara National Reserve.
Prof Simon Gicharu, founder and chairman MKU board of directors, praised the educational reforms that the country is embarking on and said the university would embrace the new measures aimed at improving the education system.
President Wiliam Ruto on Tuesday launched an ambitious plan to reform the country’s education system. The recommendations made by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform are aimed at improving the Competency Based Curriculum that is replacing the 8-4-4 system.
Speaking during the graduation, Prof Gicharu said listed the areas that will be reviewed.
“The reforms touch on increased productivity in research and innovation, improvement in university international rankings, exemption of university scholarly research and innovation levies, institutionalisation of university and industry linkages and funding for higher education,” he said.
“From where we sit, we see these university reforms as a challenge for universities to do what they are supposed to do both in academics and community outreach.”
He urged the graduands to be innovative, saying among the areas that offer huge opportunities is coming up with solutions to the global environment crisis.
"The climate change challenge comes with numerous opportunities for innovative and creative entrepreneurs," he said.
"These include coming up with innovative solutions for clean and green energy, tree planting, restoration of water towers, conservation and Cloud Seeding Technology."
"As a fresh graduate, apply this innovative spirit in your area of training and expertise. If your field is ICT, you should not just be an ICT specialist. Be innovative and identify other opportunities in areas such as Artificial Intelligence."
MKU Chancellor Prof John Struthers said this year, the university had made improvements to academic facilities and learning infrastructure through setting up additional learning space for students and laboratories for research.
These include the recent unveiling of a Sh300 million Centre for Malaria Elimination at the University’s main Campus in Thika. The centre, which is expected to make major strides in research towards elimination of the killer disease, was built through support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). MKU will collaborate with Osaka City University in research.
“This centre focuses on biomedical research in genomics and cell-biology techniques, and its facilities and resources are open to other researchers from Kenya, Africa and beyond,” he said.
MKU has also recently established partnerships with institutions from Germany and Austria that offer healthcare professionals trained by the university opportunities to work in the two European countries.
“Mount Kenya University has also been training students on German language, which will give them an edge to offer their services in Germany and Austria,” he said.
“These and many other local partnerships are vital in enhancing the achievement of the university vision and mission.”
