Nairobi trails KU and Moi for first time in admissions
University of Nairobi’s main campus in the central business district. FILE
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The university is set to admit 5,387 students, behind Moi University (5,861) and Kenyatta University (5,566), the first time this has happened.
University of Nairobi, Kenya’s oldest institution of higher learning, says an accommodation crunch has resulted in it admitting fewer students than its peers for the next academic year.
The university is set to admit 5,387 students, behind Moi University (5,861) and Kenyatta University (5,566), the first time this has happened.
This has raised concern, especially because it is one of the most preferred universities, although lower numbers might help improve the quality of education.
The varsity on Tuesday admitted that Moi and Kenyatta universities had recently aggressively set up more facilities, ranging from lecture halls to hostels.
“The slow growth in our facilities is partly to blame for the relatively slow uptake of new students,” the acting academic registrar Ben Waweru told the Business Daily. “But the number is still above last year’s.”
Moi University has partnered with Shelter Afrique and Aengus Investment Properties to construct an accommodation unit for students that will have a shopping complex, sporting facilities, Wi-Fi connections, swimming pools and extra cottages for visitors and parents.
On the other hand, KU has constructed a number of structures around the main campus, the latest being the Chandaria Business Centre set for launch this month.
Last year, the University of Nairobi admitted 4,832 students, Moi 4,505 students while KU made 4,376 admissions.
The new students come as Nairobi introduced four more courses pushing the number to 54. These are Medical Laboratory, Science and Technology, whose indicative admission slots this year stands at 20, BSc Fisheries and Aquaculture Management (25), BSc Leather Technology (45) and Bachelor of Education in ICT (25).
The institution, Mr Waweru said, offers the highest number of programmes in the country. He added that emphasis has been laid on science-related courses in line with the Universities Act 2012.
The varsity’s Vice Chancellor Prof George Magoha hinted earlier of plans to engage in public-private partnerships to facilitate construction of additional accommodation units to meet growing population of students, currently 60,000.
Public universities are set to admit 53,010 students this year marking a 26 per cent increase from last year. Private universities on average absorb 10,000 students while another 30,000 students go abroad for their university education.
