The first batch of students for Kenya’s virtual university will be admitted in September, opening the higher education doors to millions who want to study remotely.
President William Ruto is expected to award a charter to establish the first open university in Kenya on Wednesday following its approval by Parliament early this month.
The charter for the Open University of Kenya (OUK) will grant authority for its operations.
Once that is done, the first batch of students will be admitted in September, as earlier planned and the government targets to enrol 7,100 students in the first intake.
The Commission for University Education (CUE) had earlier approved recommendations for the establishment of the OUK during a special meeting of its board on June 7, 2023.
They were based on an institutional inspection conducted on June 2 and 3 2023 at the temporary site of the OUK at the Nacosti Building.
“The commission in its deliberations appreciated the uniqueness of the proposed Open University of Kenya, being the first university [in Kenya] to be established without being mentored by an existing university, hence lack of a governing organ to incur expenses,” the letter signed by the CEO of CUE Mike Kuria reads.
The virtual university will be permanently based at the Konza Technopolis.
Unlike other conventional public universities, the President will appoint the chair of the council. However, the vice chancellor will be appointed by the CS for Education, on the recommendation of the council.
The rest of the structure of the OUK will take the form of conventional universities.
The university was allocated Sh270 million in the 2022-23 national budget.
