The Mountain Journal
By James Wakahiu in Thika
Chancellor, Prof John Struthers has informed the more than 6,500 graduands who
have qualified for conferment of degree and various university awards, that the
19th Graduation ceremony will be held on Friday, 6th August, 2021.
“In compliance with the COVID-19 containment
and preventive measures and the guidelines by the Ministry of Education and
Ministry of Health, the graduation ceremony will be held virtually on Friday, 6th August 2021 at 9.00
am,” Prof Struthers said in a statement.
The fete will be presided over by Prof.
John Struthers who will award diplomas and certificates and confer degrees on
qualified candidates. The Chief Guest will be Prof Balunywa
Waswa, Principal , Makerere Business school, Uganda.
The theme of the graduation ceremony is
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education. This comes after the
United Nations Academic Impact has recognised MKU as the SDG 10 hub: Reduced
inequalities.
Congratulating the graduates in advance, Prof Struthers told all the graduates who
have been successfully conferred degrees and awarded diploma and certificates
during the past university graduation ceremonies to collect their certificates
within a year after graduation to avoid paying a Sh1,200 per annum.
Last year, MKU and Strathmore were the first two private universities to fully comply with the
Covid-19 protocols to allow re-opening following closure of learning in all
institutions in the country in March 2020 after the outbreak of Covid-19
pandemic.
Education Cabinet
Secretary George Magoha said Strathmore University and MKU) had instituted
necessary changes, re-engineered their physical spaces and adopted blended
teaching to allow resumption of learning. The CS said the institutions have put
in place mechanisms to allow social distancing, multiple hand washing and
sanitisation points, enhanced screening and decongested open spaces.
Prof John
Struthers said a partnership with Safaricom reduced internet connectivity costs
for both staff and students. The institution also partnered the tech firm
Microsoft for e-learning software. The university used Microsoft Teams
application for online meetings, teaching and conducting examinations.
In March this year, MKU released its first cohort of medical
doctors since it was accredited to offer Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of
Surgery (MBchB) programme. Dr Eva Njenga, the chair of the Kenya Medical
Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC), presided over the administration of
Hippocratic Oath to the 29 medical doctors.
The medical
doctors who successfully undertook the six-year training then proceeded to
various hospitals for their 13-month internship. The university was accredited
in 2014 to teach medicine. It would later partner with Thika and
Machakos Level 5 Hospitals and other health providers for practical training.
MKU is the first
university founded by a private education entrepreneur to graduate medical
students. Others who have had similar graduations are public universities and
faith-based institutions.
while the demand of doctors in the country remains high, KMPDC was keen to
ensure the level of training remains above board. “We have the national
training and standard of medical schools and teaching hospitals in Kenya. This is one of the
aspects that as a council we are taking seriously because we want to make
sure that the doctors that are coming out of the medical schools are safe for
the people we work for,” Dr Njenga said.It will be the 19th Graduation ceremony which will take place at MKU Graduation Pavilion, Happy Valley, Thika.
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