Mount Kigali University, which started off as a campus of Mount Kenya University in Rwanda, is on a path to charting its own destiny after it was granted the instruments of power in Rwanda.
Established in 2010, the university has managed to scale up the ladder and was granted full accreditation to operate as Mount Kigali University in April this year.
Speaking when he was handed over the instruments in Kigali, Rwanda, Vice Chancellor Dr. Martin Kimemia termed the new development a milestone in higher education in the country.
The VC said the university has over the years become a centre of endeavours to provide a nurturing environment for students, adding that it has one of the best state-of-the-art infrastructures for curricular and co-curricular activities in Rwanda.
He said the institution is in the process of constructing a hotel which will be a regional centre of excellence and will offer practical training for its students from the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.
In addition, he said the university will soon open a University Medical Centre where its staff, students, alumni, and community will receive medical services. “We have also invested about 200 million Rwandan Francs (about KSh20 million) to buy dental equipment in preparation to roll out Dentistry courses,” he said.
The University Board Chairman and Founder, Prof. Simon Gicharu, termed the achievement a milestone in the region’s education sector.
With autonomy and instruments of power, graduates will now celebrate their academic milestones in the presence of their parents, guardians, friends, and siblings in Rwanda rather than having to travel to Thika, Mount Kenya University’s main campus.
The instruments include a Mace, which mostly leads the Chancellor’s Procession during graduation ceremonies, Seal which is the official signature of the university. It is through the Seal that official documents and Statutes which are the foundation upon which Mount Kigali University will be governed.
By Muoki Charles