On Friday, 9th December, 2022, Karatina University held its 10th Graduation Ceremony where over one thousand qualified graduates were churned into the market. The students graduated in various fields from Diploma to PhD levels. The breakdown of the one thousand one hundred and twenty one students is as follows: 3 PhDs, 7 Masters, 1103 undergraduates and 8 Diplomas.
Happy graduands following proceedings
The Ceremony was presided over by the Chancellor, Prof. Francis Gichaga, who is also the Chairman of Council. It was also graced by the Principal Secretary, State Department for Technical and Vocational Education and Training, Dr. Esther Thaara Muoria who represented the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Higher Education, Hon. Ezekiel Machogu. The Senator, Nyeri County, Hon. Wahome Wamatinga and the area Member of Parliament, Hon. Eric Wamumbi were also in attendance.
The Council Chairman, Prof Francis Gichaga, called on the government to assist public universities in generating income to supplement the state funding.
Chairman of Council, Prof. Francis Gichaga
“Council calls upon the different government agencies charged with managing the higher education sector in Kenya to link up public universities with potential national and international donors or partners who can support research development,” Prof Gichaga said.
“We believe that when such opportunities are made available, public universities can build capacity on innovation, technology and research to generate extra income to supplement Government funding,” he added.
Principal Secretary, State Department for Technical and Vocational Education and Training, Dr. Esther Thaara Muoria
In her speech, the Principal Secretary called for concerted efforts and mentorship of women and girls to enrol in universities and to also take up Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics courses. She called on players in the education sector to towards bridging the gender gap in this area. She also urged the sector players to support the efforts of the government as it pursues education reforms. This is in reference to the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms which is working on a raft of proposals to bring these reforms.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Mucai Muchiri
The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Mucai Muchiri, while mentioning that the graduation ceremony was significant and nostalgic to him given that it was his last ceremony that he would participate in as Vice Chancellor, he reflected on the achievements the University had made over the last ten years. Prof. Muchiri paid tribute to the founding Council, led by its Chairman, the Late Prof. Charles Okidi for guiding policy development and implementation that led to the firm foundation of the institution at the initial stages. He also outlined the growth of the University in terms of student numbers, number of programmes, qualified staff, research, community service among others.